The federal government published this Monday (26) a decree that changes rules on renewal of electricity generation concessions in cases of privatization, which makes room for Copel, from Paraná, which plans privatization in 2023 while seeking to maintain its main hydroelectric plants.
The decree amends a previous one, from 2018, edited at the time of the privatization of Cesp from São Paulo, a process made possible with the permission for the new controller to renew the hydroelectric concessions upon payment of the grant.
The new wording excludes a device that conditioned the renewal of concessions to the “existence of a public service generation concession contract in effect at the time of privatization and with a remaining concession period exceeding 60 months from the advent of the contractual term or the act of grant” .
The wording of the article that deals with the type of operation that will result in privatization of the concession holder was also changed.
The new terms explain that privatization can occur not only by transferring shareholding control, but also by “disposal of equity interest, including control, opening or capital increase, with waiver or assignment, in whole or in part, of subscription rights” .
In November, the government of Paraná announced its intention to dispose of control of Copel through an offering of shares on the stock exchange, with the company no longer having a defined controller, a model similar to that of Eletrobras. The proposal has already been approved by the Legislative Assembly of Paraná.
Last week, Copel informed that its board of directors approved studies to fully renew for another 30 years the concessions of the Foz do Areia, Segredo and Salto Caxias hydroelectric plants, which add up to 4.17 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity.
This is linked to privatization plans, since, under current rules, if it remains state-owned, Copel would have to relinquish its shareholding control over the plants, leaving it with only a minority stake.
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