Aneel can transfer investment in the network to the electricity bill before tariff review
Amid the energy “blackout” crisis in São Paulo (SP), which left more than 3 million people without electricity in the metropolitan region after the strong storms on October 11th, the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) put on the table the possibility of including a loophole in the renewals of distributors’ concession contracts so that investments to improve the electricity network can be passed on to electricity bills before tariff reviews, which occur every 5 years. The information is from the newspaper Economic Value.
According to the report, published this Monday (21), Aneel put into public consultation the proposal for new contracts for 20 distributors, whose concessions begin to expire from 2025. The consultation can receive contributions until the 2nd of December this year.
If approved, the measure would modify a practice that has been adopted since the creation of the authority in 1998. In tariff review processes, Aneel usually reevaluates all costs, analyzes investments and recalculates distributors’ tariffs.
Most of the concession contracts were signed in the 1990s and did not foresee situations like those that have been faced in recent years, due to extreme temperatures and natural phenomena caused by climate change.
In these tariff reviews, distributors present the investments made in a given period. Aneel, in turn, analyzes the purchase of equipment and, if the investments are approved, they become part of the regulatory remuneration base – an amount that is passed on to tariffs.
The public consultation is part of the regulation of Decree 12,068/2024, which defines the guidelines for the renewal of concession contracts for 20 distributors.
According to the text, companies must make an “immediate commitment” to meet quality targets when restoring the service and establish an action plan to reduce the vulnerability of the system and increase the resilience of distribution networks in the face of extreme weather events. .
In a press conference last week, the president of Enel SP (energy concessionaire in the state of São Paulo), Guilherme Lencastre, admitted that the concession contracts, signed decades ago, do not meet the needs imposed by today’s climate events. .
Enel is among the 20 distributors with the concession close to closing. The contract is scheduled to end in 2028.
Subpoena to Enel
Also last week, Aneel informed that it will subpoena Enel, starting a process that could result in “a possible recommendation for expiry” – which would ultimately mean the end of the company’s concession contract in the capital of São Paulo.
The formal subpoena depends on a report that will highlight any failures of the company, which is being prepared by Aneel’s inspection area.
Aneel’s decision was taken days after the agency was once again criticized by the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira (PSD)which once again demanded greater rigor from the body in monitoring the services provided by Enel.
In a note released on Friday (18), Aneel denied that the agency’s general director, Sandoval Feitosa, had made any mention of a possible intervention in Enel.
“The agency clarifies that at no time was this statement made by the director general of the agency. Possible administrative penalties, fines, obligation to do, administrative intervention and subpoena for the purpose of recommending expiry to the MME were explained (Ministry of Mines and Energy)”, says the text.
Aneel also reiterated that it fined Enel R$165 million after a “blackout” in São Paulo last year, and requested that the company present a contingency plan to face the “adverse climate that would begin from October and November”.
“With the advent of the adverse weather event on 10/11/24, Aneel has been following Enel’s work since the beginning. It has also requested support from all transmission and distribution concessionaires in the state, in addition to monitoring the entire load normalization process”, states the agency.
MP with the TCU asks for intervention
The Public Ministry at the Federal Audit Court (MPTCU) asked, on Friday (18), the body to determine immediate federal intervention in Enel, an energy concessionaire in the state of São Paulo.
The author of the MPTCU representation is attorney Lucas Furtado. He states that the court must use its prerogatives to “prevent hesitations on the part of the granting authority regarding the necessary intervention in the services granted to Enel”.
“The current case has already demonstrated the need for intervention. The failure in service and the excessive delay in returning to normality, beyond any reasonable expectation, have already become public and notorious”, states Furtado.
“The situation experienced by consumers in the metropolitan region of the city of São Paulo has become a true scandal. There is nothing more to prove regarding this fact”, continues the prosecutor.
The representation will be forwarded to a court reporting minister, who may accept or reject it. After the rapporteur’s opinion, the TCU plenary must decide on the possible intervention.
If the MPTCU’s request is granted, the court may determine or simply recommend intervention. The final decision rests with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
