Brazil’s government has extended renewable power utility Neoenergia SA’s license to operate in the northeastern coastal state of Pernambuco to 2060.
“Neoenergia Pernambuco has just become the first electricity distributor in the country to obtain an early extension of its concession contract from the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME)”, Neoenergia, part of Spanish electricity and gas utility Iberdrola SA, said in a statement on its website.
“Five years in advance, the new contract guarantees the company the possibility of bringing forward investments of around BRL 6 billion until 2029, speeding up improvements to the electricity system and benefiting more than four million customers throughout the state”.
The license extension was granted after an assessment of Neoenergia Pernambuco’s supply quality and financial health by the ministry and the National Electric Energy Agency, the statement said.
“The company will now follow even stricter performance rules, established by the National Electric Energy Agency”, Neoenergia said. “The new concession contract aims to improve service provision, including by providing for greater resilience of the electricity networks to deal with severe weather events”.
Neoenergia noted it has invested over BRL 20 billion in Pernambuco over the last 25 years to modernize and expand the grid.
“This commitment has resulted in significant advances in quality indicators: since 2015, the average interruption time has fallen by 43 percent, and the average frequency of occurrences has fallen by 42 percent, placing Pernambuco among the best historical levels”, the statement said.
“Universal access to energy was achieved in 2009, guaranteeing electricity in all regions of the state. Since 2000, 54 new substations have been delivered and more than 77,000 kilometers of transmission and distribution lines have been built, in line with the growth in the number of customers, which more than doubled in the period”.
Neoenergia is building its third Brazilian solar plant in the Pernambuco archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. “Authorized by the MME, the company has committed itself to decarbonizing energy generation on the island through a photovoltaic system associated with battery storage”, the statement said. “When the project is completed in 2027, Noronha will be the first inhabited oceanic island in Latin America to reach this milestone”.
Neoenergia added it is “concentrating its efforts on increasing the number of customers benefiting from the Social Electricity Tariff (TSEE), which under the current rule allows those who consume up to 80 kWh per month to be exempt from payment”.
“Currently, around 1.2 million customers are registered with the TSEE”, Neoenergia said.
Across Brazil, Neoenergia has an installed capacity of 3.9 gigawatts through 44 wind farms, four hydro plants and the two Pernambuco solar plants, Neoenergia says on its website. The company says it has 18 transmitters in operation or under construction, as well as over 8,000 kilometers (4,970.97 miles) of power lines in 15 states. It says it serves about 40 million people in Brazil.
Iberdrola has allotted Brazil EUR 7 billion ($8.22 billion) of its 2024-28 global investment plan of EUR 58 billion. Iberdrola announced the new plan last week, an increase from the previous plan of EUR 41 billion.
“This plan aims to transform Iberdrola’s profile into a more regulated company, with networks as a vector for growth”, Iberdrola executive chair Ignacio Galan said.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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