Brazil had 96.6 gigawatts of installed generating capacity in 2007, with the single largest share being hydroelectricity. In 2007, the country generated 437 billion kilowatthours (Bkwh) of electric power, while consuming 402 Bkwh. Hydropower provided 85 percent, with smaller amounts coming from conventional thermal, nuclear, and other renewable sources.

Brazil generated 371 Bkwh of hydroelectric power in 2007, accounting for 85 percent of its total electricity generation. Together with Paraguay, Brazil maintains the Itaipu facility on the Parana River. According to Itaipu Binacional, the facility generated 94.7 Bkwh of electricity in 2008. Many of Brazil's hydropower generating facilities are located far away from the main demand centers, resulting in high transmission and distribution losses. Brazil’s heavy reliance on hydroelectricity has caused some issues in the past, especially during periods of below-average rainfall.

Conventional thermal generating sources provided only a small part of Brazil’s electricity supply, contributing about 8 percent in 2007. According to Brazil’s Ministry of Energy and Mines, the largest contributor to Brazil’s conventional thermal power generation in 2007 was natural gas (45 percent), followed by petroleum products (34 percent) and coal (17 percent). The share represented by natural gas has grown sizably in recent years, standing at only 7 percent in 1998.

Brazil has two nuclear power plants, the 630-megawatt (MW) Angra-1 and the 1,350-MW Angra-2. State-owned Eletronuclear, a subsidiary of Eletrobras, operates both plants. Construction of a third plant, the 1,350-MW Angra-3, started in 1986, but was never finished. In 2008, construction began again, with completion slated for 2014. According to industry sources, Eletronuclear plans to build at least four new nuclear power plants (in addition to Angra-3) by 2030, in order to meet expected growth in Brazilian electricity demand.