Silveira:Government cannot renew with companies like Light – 05/08/2023 – Market

Companies with management problems in the distribution of electricity cannot be admitted in concession renewal processes, said this Monday (8) the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, quoting Light.

While the renewal model for energy distribution concessions is still under discussion, a number of concessionaires have contracts expiring between 2025 and 2030. Light’s is expected to expire in mid-2026.

To participate in the process, said the minister, companies cannot present technical or economic conditions that put the quality of public services at risk.

“We cannot admit that companies that do not have efficient management continue to participate in renewal processes or that they exclusively seek the solution of these processes in the corridors of Aneel and the Ministry of Mines and Energy, and Light is an example of that”, stated Silveira .

“Despite the specific problems that we recognized in Rio de Janeiro regarding losses (due to energy theft), Light has not been presenting the Ministry of Mines and Energy with adequate answers regarding its administrative efficiency.”

Responsible for energy distribution in more than 30 municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, Light is facing a serious financial imbalance, having obtained an injunction in court to temporarily suspend financial obligations of around R$ 11.1 billion.

When contacted, Light said it will not comment on the statements made by the minister.

Light also declared that “today it has one of the best levels of service in Brazil: it ended 2022 as the 2nd best distributor in the country in Equivalent Frequency of Interruption of Internal Origin per Consumer Unit (FECi) and the 4th best in Equivalent Duration of Interruption of Domestic Origin by Consumer Unit (DECi), among those with more than 1 million customers, according to Aneel”.

The company also said that it is up to date with all its tax and intrasectoral obligations.

The minister again defended during the interview that the concession renewal model does not bring “burdensomeness”. “That is, a granting fee is not charged for these renewals, but rather the expansion of the quality of the volume of investments and the quality of services provided by the distributors is charged”, he said.

Silveira also stressed that social counterparts will also be sought in these renovations.