Winners announced for Brazilian transmission auction
The Brazilian government has awarded licenses for companies to build and operate 6,126 km of power transmission lines.
The second stage of Transmission Auction No. 13/2015 was successfully concluded by the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL). The country has found investors for 21 of 24 lots offered.
The projects are located in the following states: Bahia, Ceará, Goiás, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraíba, Piauí and Rio Grande do Norte.
ANEEL estimates the new licenses will require investment of BRL11.6 billion (US$3.61 billion).
The auction had an average discount of 12.07% at the initial price offered. This means that the income of the entrepreneurs to exploit the investments will be lower than initially anticipated, contributing to a low energy tariff.
The big winner of the auction was Equatorial Energia SA. The company won seven lots in the event, including the number 9, with the biggest discount of the auction of 27.99%, and number 21, a project with the biggest dispute after being sold by Companhia de Transmissão de Energia Elétrica Paulista (CTEEP) with 54 bids.
Equatorial Energia controls two power distribution firms and two large oil-fired thermal power plants in northern Brazil. It has no prior presence in the power transmission sector.
Other investors awarded projects were Brookfield, which won three lots in partnership with Spanish company Cymi (ACS Group); CTEEP, controlled by Colombian holding company ISA; or the Brazilian subsidiary of EDP.
