2023-05-03 14:55:40
© Reuters. Power transmission lines in Brasília (DF) 08/29/2018 REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino
SÃO PAULO (Reuters) – The Ministry of Mines and Energy said on Tuesday that the renewal of concessions for electricity distributors should be linked to “social compensation” by companies, signaling that the government intends to change the terms applied in past processes of the genre.
In a statement on the subject, the folder stated that the proposal aims to “improve the quality of service” to energy consumers, but did not detail exactly what these counterparts would be or how they would be included in the distributors’ contracts.
Also according to the Ministry, the idea was defended in a meeting held the day before with teams of distributors with concessions close to expiration.
The proposal is the first signal from the government regarding the terms that will be set for the almost 20 concessionaires whose contracts expire from 2025, in a process that involves large groups in the electricity sector, such as EDP (BVMF:) Brasil, Enel (BIT:), CPFL (BVMF:), which serve almost 60% of Brazilian consumers.
Who opens the queue for the next renovations is EDP Espírito Santo, with a contract that expires in 2025. The concessionaire has already expressed its interest in the process to the government – by law, this procedure must be started at least 36 months before the end of the contract.
The electricity sector has been monitoring the issue since last year, when rumors emerged that the process could be costly, involving grant payments — unlike what happened in 2015, when other distribution concessionaires went through the exchange of their contracts.
The government had signaled to the Federal Court of Auditors that it would open a public consultation on the subject in April, but this has not yet occurred.
In Tuesday’s communiqué, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, said that social contributions are essential for renovations to benefit everyone.
“After all, they (counterparts) will serve energy efficiency and, mainly, the population with increased investments by distributors in low and medium voltage lines to improve the quality of services in the distribution segment for the population”, stated Silveira.
(By Leticia Fucuchima)
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