Last episode of soap opera grips Brazil

Rio de Janeiro’s residents read newspapers frontpages with news dedicated to the final chapter of the soap opera Avenida Brasil (Brazil Avenue) on October 18. AFP/ANTONIO SCORZA

SAO PAULO — Brazil’s national electricity grid is bracing itself for possible power outages Friday night as television airs the final chapter of the smash soap opera has enthralled Latin America’s biggest country for months.

The Electric Energy System Operator says that unless energy generating and distributing companies prepare themselves, the country could suffer power outages at the end of “Avenida Brasil.” It’s the story of a young woman’s vengeance on her nouveau-riche stepmother who abandoned her in a landfill.

A spokesman for the energy system operator said officials fear sudden surges in electricity consumption as millions of viewers switch on their living room lights, raid their refrigerators and turn on microwave ovens. He declined to be identified in accordance with department policy.