TCU considers suspending largest energy auction of the year

TCU subprosecutor-general Lucas Rocha Furtado requested on Wednesday the suspension of the results from Brazil's largest energy auction of 2026, held on March 18. The request raises concerns over companies like Evolution Power Partners and process irregularities. The court is now reviewing the precautionary measure.

Lucas Rocha Furtado, TCU subprosecutor-general, requested on Wednesday (April 1) the suspension of results from the capacity reserve auction, the largest of the year, held on March 18. He seeks further checks on participants' technical and financial capacity, as well as competitive regularity, particularly for those with questionable viability.

Scrutiny targets Evolution Power Partners (EPP) and affiliates, which won contracts totaling over R$ 8 billion in investments for 1.685 GW of power. Furtado states EPP failed to disclose ties to other bidders to EPE and CCEE, breaching rules. "The hypothesis that the same economic group may have acted under multiple identities [...] is extremely serious," the prosecutor wrote.

Mid-auction, Âmbar Energia's Araucária II plant (linked to J&F) was reclassified from new to existing, changing its ceiling price and limiting participation. J&F appealed to Aneel against the outcome. The Mines and Energy Ministry also raised ceiling prices three days prior without supporting technical note.

Furtado noted EPP's past failure to deliver 2021 emergency auction projects and background of alleged controller Marcos Antonio Grecco, probed in Lava Jato and defendant in an Amapá bribery case. The 5% to 5.5% average discount indicates potential distortion, per the document.

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Dramatic illustration of Aneel initiating caducity process against Enel amid São Paulo blackouts from storms.
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Aneel opens caducity process against Enel in São Paulo

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Brazil's National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) decided on Tuesday (7) to open an administrative process to terminate the concession contract of distributor Enel in the São Paulo metropolitan region. The company has 30 days to defend itself before the agency issues an opinion to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, which has the final say. The action follows repeated blackouts caused by storms since late 2023.

The TCU technical area recommended partial suspension of the homologation of a major energy auction that contracted R$ 515 billion in reserves for thermoelectric and hydroelectric plants.

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Fiesp and CNI requested to join as amicus curiae in a TCU case over the energy auction that contracted R$ 515 billion. The entities oppose the bidding due to rising costs, low discounts and prioritization of polluting sources.

Enel has filed a 119-page defense with Aneel challenging the process that could end its São Paulo concession contract. The Italian company claims the proceeding is null and its performance indicators exceed the national average.

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Chinese electrical equipment companies are boosting their presence in Brazil to compete in the battery market, as the country gears up for large-scale storage systems. A government auction planned for this year is expected to draw billions in investments, targeting 2 GW of capacity. Manufacturers like Sungrow and Huawei have already restructured teams and begun talks with potential clients.

The Superintendencia de Servicios Públicos Domiciliarios fined Enel Colombia $2.847 million for submitting elevated price offers in the Wholesale Energy Market that did not reflect its variable costs. This action sidelined the Betania plant from economic dispatch and caused an artificial rise in prices. President Gustavo Petro linked the issue to March inflation and demanded Enel refund the overcharge to users.

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