Czarnikow opens R$60 million arbitration against Statkraft
The English commodities trading company Czarnikow Brasil initiated an arbitration procedure against the Norwegian Statkraft at the FGV Mediation and Arbitration Chamber, in a dispute involving electricity purchase and sale contracts signed in a bilateral contract between the companies in January 2025.
In the application to which CNN had access, Czarnikow provisionally estimates the value of the arbitration at R$60 million. The company states in the document that regulatory and methodological changes in the Brazilian electricity sector have significantly altered the economic dynamics of the operations contracted between the parties, which, according to the company, generated an economic-financial imbalance not originally foreseen in the agreement.
According to the document, the contract provided for two electrical energy modulation swap operations. Statkraft would deliver a modulation curve in the Northeast submarket, while Czarnikow would provide power in a "flat" profile. The remuneration of the business provided for the sale of energy at R$126/MWh and repurchase at R$120/MWh, a difference that represented a net premium of R$6/MWh paid by Statkraft to Czarnikow.
For Czarnikow, the sector's scenario changed after signing the contract due to three regulatory changes: the introduction of the so-called "Hybrid Newave", changes in the CVaR (Conditional Value at Risk) methodology and the new structural CVU (Unit Variable Cost) calculation methodology.
According to the company, these changes increased the volatility of the PLD (Difference Settlement Price) and increased in a "disproportionate, unpredictable and extraordinary" way the modulation costs borne by the company.
"Faced with the impossibility of continuing to bear losses that, in less than 2 (two) years, already amounted to almost R$30 million, the Claimant filed a pre-arbitration precautionary measure", says the document.
The request states that the contract has a specific clause for economic-financial rebalancing in the event of regulatory changes that impact the originally agreed conditions.
When contacted, Statkraft said that its operations are guided by high standards of ethics and integrity in business. In the aforementioned context, the company said that it does not comment on legal or arbitration disputes which, by their nature, are confidential. Czarnikow was also contacted, but did not want to comment.
Source: CNN