Aneel’s General Director suspends J&F’s thermal benefit

The acting director general of Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency), Camila Bomfim, suspended this Thursday (2) benefit granted to thermal plants of Âmbar Energia, of the J&F group (which also controls JBS, a global company in the meat sector). ).

In a monocratic decision, Bonfim suspended the injunction that had been allowing, since May 18, an old Âmbar thermal plant, Mário Covas (in Cuiabá), to supply energy in place of four new delayed projects – as shown by the Sheet.

The injunction had also suspended the fine of R$ 209 million, provided for by the delay, and released payments to the company. According to market estimates, if the benefit lasted until August 1, the deadline for delivering the projects, almost R$ 1 billion would be paid for energy from the Cuiabá thermal plant, an amount debited from the electricity bill of all Brazilians.

The suspension defined by the director-general reverses the flow of resources. Ámbar pays the fine again and cannot receive payment.

Bonfim’s measure complied with the request of consumer protection entities. Abrace (Brazilian Association of Large Industrial Energy Consumers and Free Consumers), Anace (National Association of Energy Consumers) and Pólis (Institute for Training Studies and Advice on Social Policies), questioned the benefit on Monday (30) and asked for its suspension.

All reinforced the same arguments: that the supply of energy by the thermal plant in Cuiabá violates the contract signed with the company and the auction rules, burdening the electricity bill unnecessarily, since the hydroelectric reservoirs are full.

The discussion on the injunction is scheduled for the meeting next Tuesday (7). It is not yet possible to anticipate the outcome.

A detail that calls the attention of the executives who follow the discussion is the history of Térmica Mário Covas. The comments are that she seems to be unlucky.

It was a project by Enron, a company that sprang up in the early 2000s. It was inaugurated in 2001 and, since then, has faced different problems to operate. Purchased in 2015 by the energy arm of J&F, it faced a gas supply problem with Petrobras.

In a note sent to SheetÁmbar said that she will wait for the final decision.

“While a collegiate decision of the board cannot be revoked by a unilateral decision of the director-general, Âmbar will await the analysis of the merits of its proposal, which can bring savings of up to R$ 8 billion to energy consumers over the 44-month contract”, reads the text.

“Since April, Âmbar has requested, together with Aneel, the use of UTE Mário Covas for the delivery of energy under the contract through a reduction in revenue that would result in a benefit of more than R$ 620 million to consumers”, states the text. “Before the unilateral act of the director-general, Âmbar Energia made an amendment to the original proposal, increasing the benefits for consumers by up to R$ 8 billion.”

According to the company, the four plants provided for in PCS 2021 will be delivered within the contractual term. “If Aneel decides not to use UTE Mário Covas in the contract and waives the consequent price reduction for consumers, Âmbar will deliver the energy through the four contracted plants, without the economic benefits for the consumer and for the Interconnected System National”, reads the text.

‘absurd measure’

In addition to the entities, the agency also received questions from the TCU (Union Court of Auditors), and even from the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy).

According to reports made to Sheetin a meeting at the MME, Minister Adolfo Sachsida told Bomfim that the agency would need to close the matter as soon as possible, suspending the injunction that allows the use of the Cuiabá thermal plant in place of the others provided for in the energy supply contract.

Sachsida has told those who follow the issue that he considers the injunction to be absurd and that, aware that he cannot interfere with a regulatory agency, he asked the technicians to seek alternatives through legal means to reverse the measure, in case Aneel does not act with diligence.

According to reports, the MME can reverse an Aneel decision in a very specific case: when it considers that the agency has deviated from the implementation of the policy outlined by the ministry.

Folder technicians had already found a loophole. It can be argued that Aneel’s decision in favor of J&F violated the policy of the portfolio, which is established by the ministry in Ordinance 24/2021. In the text, it is determined that the energy contracted must be from new plants.

As the Cuiabá plant has been in operation since 2001, it does not qualify as a new project.

There is another rule that has been used by people against the measure. In the auction, a PCS (Simplified Competitive Procedure), the energy must be delivered by the auction winners, as highlighted in clause 4.4 of the contract.

“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]”, highlights the text.

The market’s assessment was that the director-general would be able to close the issue, and her statement was well received.

By the rule of the auction in which the company participated —a PCS held last October — only new projects could participate.

All 17 thermal plants that won the competition, including the four from Âmbar Energia (from the J&F group), were due to start operating on May 1st. In case of delay, the plant would have to pay a fine while it does not supply energy as expected and have the contract canceled on August 1st if it is unable to start the new plants by then.

Aneel’s provisional decision, however, made an exception for Âmbar’s projects, leading to a chain reaction between market agents.

INTERNAL TENSION

The atmosphere is tense at the agency. The technical area is against the injunction, but was unable to issue the opposite technical note because it has been pressured to wait for new proposals on the matter.

The director who acted as rapporteur of the case and defended the measure, Efrain Pereira da Cruz, is saying goodbye to the agency. He tried to be nominated for the post of director-general, since he could not be reappointed to the same post, but in the matter he has two important allies.

The two other directors, present at the meeting that approved the injunction, and who followed the rapporteur’s vote, remain at the agency.

Hélvio Neves Guerra, who chaired the work at the meeting, was reappointed. Sandoval de Araújo Feitosa Neto will assume the main position (general director of the agency) in August.

Efraim has been working behind the scenes so that the precautionary measure is not overturned, as this is a trend among the agency’s technicians.

In January, Âmbar placed a first order to supply energy from the Mário Covas thermal plant while the new projects were not ready. On that occasion, he received a negative from the technical area.

The company resubmitted the request, requesting the injunction in April, and got the green light on May 17 — before technicians and the attorney’s office reevaluated the new proposal, which was confidential.