By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter
SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Electric energy regulator (ANEEL) is celebrating the successful energy auction held on Friday, December 15th, where eleven lots were auctioned off in ten Brazilian states. According to ANEEL investments from these transmission lines auctioned off could total more than R$8.7 billion and generate over 17,000 jobs.
The auction was for the construction, operation and maintenance of 4,919 km of transmission lines and substations with a capacity of 10,416 mega-volt-amperes (MVA) in the states of Bahia, Ceará, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraíba, Pernambuco , Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Tocantins.
“The level of competitiveness reflects investor confidence in the regulatory framework and in the country itself,” secretary of electric energy of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Fábio Lopes Alves told journalists during the auction.
According to government officials with this auction, consumers should see a reduction in their electric bills in the coming years, since the winning bids all offered lower prices on energy than currently practiced.
The auction counted on forty-seven participating groups and most of the lots received offers from more than ten competitors. Along with Brazilian energy giants, auction winners also included Franco-Belgium consortium Engie Brasil, Spain’s Celeo Networks Brasil, and Indian company Sterlite Power Grid Ventures Limited.
This is the second auction of power transmission lines conducted by the federal government in 2017. According to Aneel, it was the first time since 2014 that all the lots offered are sold and the auction registering highest average discount in several years.