Aneel approves plants for the 2026 capacity reserve auction
The board of Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency) unanimously approved this Thursday (21) the results of the LRCap (Capacity Reserve Auction) for the year 2026, ending one of the most sensitive stages of the process despite pressure from the MPF (Federal Public Ministry), legal actions and ongoing investigations at the TCU (Federal Audit Court).
The agency also decided to inform the TCU of the deliberation. The decision confirms the contracting of around 19.5 GW of power, in contracts lasting up to 15 years and costing consumers more than R$515 billion.
The rapporteur of the process, director Fernando Mosna, maintained in his vote that there was no "legal, judicial, administrative or external control obstacle" that would prevent the approval of the event. According to him, although there are ongoing investigations and questions, there has so far been no court decision or precautionary measure from the TCU suspending the auctions.
"If the Federal Audit Court intended to prevent the practice of these acts, it could do so through a specific precautionary measure, which did not happen", stated Mosna in his vote.
The director also argued that postponing approval, without formal determination from control bodies, could create legal uncertainty for the electricity sector and compromise system planning.
During the meeting, Aneel's general director, Sandoval Feitosa, stated that the questions raised by control bodies and entities do not directly concern the regulatory agency's actions.
According to Sandoval, discussions involving power demand, definition of ceiling prices and bidding guidelines are the responsibility of the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), EPE and sectoral planning, and not Aneel.
The session was marked by demonstrations against the approval. In oral argument, lawyer Fernanda de Paula, representative of Abraenergias (Brazilian Association of Unions and Associations Representatives of Energy Industries), stated that irregularities persist which, according to her, would need to be remedied before the auction rite continued. Fernanda is married to deputy Danilo Forte, a parliamentarian linked to the wind sector and critical of the event.
She especially criticized the increase in ceiling prices on the eve of the event and stated that there was a "lack of anchored justification" for the changes made by the government. It also highlighted the estimated impact of R$515 billion in consumer charges over the course of the contracts.
Fernanda also stated that there were "clear signs of irregularity" in the process and highlighted that the TCU has not yet concluded its analysis of the case. According to her, given this scenario, Aneel should avoid approval until a definitive decision from the court of accounts.
Inel (National Institute of Clean Energy) also took a stance against approval, reinforcing criticisms of the auction design and the exclusion of technologies such as battery storage systems. Abividro, representing the industrial sector, expressed concern about the tariff impacts resulting from the contracts.
Despite the criticism, Mosna maintained that recent court decisions reinforced the continuity of the administrative process. The rapporteur cited decisions from the Federal Court of the Federal District, Ceará and TRF-1 that denied injunction requests to suspend the effects of the auctions.
In the case of the oil and biodiesel auction, the director also highlighted that there were discounts of more than 50% in relation to the ceiling prices, which, according to him, would demonstrate effective competitiveness in that specific product.
Source: CNN