Regulatory bodies are debating the exceptional benefit granted to Ámbar, a company of the J&F group, owned by the Batista family, which also controls the global meat company JBS.
The TCU (Union Court of Auditors) officially questioned Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency). THE Sheet had access to the request for information.
The control body wants to know the reasons that led the agency to allow four new Âmbar gas-fired power plants, which are behind schedule, without delivering energy within the stipulated period in the contract, to be replaced by another plant, from the same group. —a type of exchange that is expressly prohibited by a clause of the same contract.
As a result of this decision, Âmbar does not pay a monthly fine estimated by the agency itself at R$ 209 million and is now entitled to receive a payment of R$ 616.03 R$/MWh per month.
In the letter in which it asks for explanations, the TCU also recalls that the Electric Sector Monitoring Committee decided, on April 6, to suspend exceptional measures for the activation of thermal plants, whose energy is more expensive, and asks if the agency considered the impact of your decision on the electricity bill.
The TCU also wants to know why the document that deals with this replacement for the J&F group’s thermal plants is confidential at the agency, without having been analyzed by the technical area or the prosecutor’s office. The regulatory body even asks the agency to provide the name of the person who determined the secrecy, which is considered unusual in this type of procedure.
The use of a thermal plant to operate as a backup for delayed plants was approved at an Aneel board meeting on May 17. The reporting director, Efrain Pereira da Cruz authorized that the Mário Covas thermal plant, located in Cuiabá (MT), with about 20 years of age, cover the delay in the construction of Edlux 10, EPP 2, EPP4 and Rio de Janeiro 1, projects scheduled to operate in Rio de Janeiro.
The decision was issued on a precautionary basis, that is, it is not definitive, but releases the operation, suspending the fine, and authorizing payments.
The deputy director general, Hélvio Neves Guerra, who chaired the work, and director Sandoval de Araújo Feitosa Neto also participated in the meeting.
The directors did not consider clause 4.4 of the contract that governs these projects and determines that “the energy defined in the contract cannot be delivered by another plant of the seller, by another agent of the CCEE [Câmara de Comercialização de Energia Elétrica]nor by the set of agents due to the optimized operation of the SIN [Sistema Interligado Nacional]”.
The agency itself was responsible for auctioning these projects, by delegation from the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy). The document with this rule was attached to the auction notice and has the Aneel logo.
These four Âmbar thermal plants make up a group of 14 gas-fired projects contracted in October within a new system, the PCS (Simplified Competitive Procedure). At that time there was a risk of rationing, and the government supported the contracting of new projects at a very high price, fearing rationing. Old thermals could not enter the dispute.
The average value in the auction was R$ 1,560 per MWh (megawatt-hour), more than seven times the value reached in similar auctions for the regulated market, which had been R$ 210 per MWh in 2019. Today, in the market the view, which guides the general price, energy is costing R$ 55 per MWh.
In total, the simplified auction contracted 775.8 MW (megawatts) at a cost of R$ 39 billion. All expenses go to the electricity bill. The four plants, now under discussion, account for more than half of this total, 343.8 MW, at a cost of R$ 18 billion.
Under the contract, the 14 gas-fired thermal plants were to start operating on May 1 and remain on uninterruptedly until the end of 2025, to allow the hydroelectric plants to store water in their reservoirs.
However, since then, two unforeseen events have occurred.
The rains were plentiful. The reservoirs are full, generating cheap energy. At the same time, the construction of the thermal plants was delayed. A part of them will find it difficult to start operations before August 1, considering the deadline, which even allows for the cancellation of the contract.
The exceptional benefit given to the J&F group’s projects caused indignation among industry executives and even among members of the agency’s technical area. A superintendent even confided to colleagues that he would not sign documents dealing with Ambar’s thermal plants.
The decision was considered not only financially irrational, with losses for the consumer. Those who follow the energy sector interpreted that a breach of contract authorized by the regulatory body itself is an unprecedented act, which sets a dangerous precedent in a sector where laws are strictly followed.
Some entities had already requested that the 14 gas thermal plants not be used.
At the TCU, there is a request that the thermal plants simply not start operating, a request sent by Idec (Brazilian Institute for Consumer Protection). The entity argues that the electricity bill is already too high, and this expensive energy is unnecessary.
At Aneel, there is another request for the cancellation of thermal plants that do not meet the contractual term, sent by Abrace, which represents large energy consumers. Attached to the request, the entity included a survey, showing the delays in the schedule of these plants. In it, the most delayed, at risk of not getting out of paper until August, were the four from Ámbar.
In a note to Folha, Âmbar defended the replacement, noting that the four thermal plants will be fully delivered, within the contractual term, adding generation capacity to the electrical system.
Despite the gas being a fossil fuel, with emissions that worsen the greenhouse effect, the company said that compared to other fuels used in thermal plants, there is an environmental gain. He also highlighted that he is not receiving the full amount, provided for in the contract, when the thermal plants do not start operating.
“The company’s proposal maintains the construction of the new plants, already in progress, in addition to reducing the emission of greenhouse gas by 15 times and benefiting the consumer by R$ 628 million in relation to the initial project”, says the company’s note.
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