The Ministry of Mines and Energy published this Monday an ordinance authorizing 15 companies to import electrical energy from Paraguay for sales contracts on the Brazilian free market, in a process that expands energy integration between partner countries in the Itaipu hydroelectric plant.
The ordinance provides authorization for two companies from BTG Pactual, two from the Engie group, trading companies from Enel, Itaú and Comerc, in addition to the trading companies Electra, Bolt Energy, Tradener, Minerva, Newcom, Simple Energy, RZK and Ecom.
The energy imported by these companies for sale on the free market must come from plants other than Itaipu, which operates under different rules for selling its surplus energy, but will enter Brazil from the right bank substation of the binational enterprise.
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Energy import operations, in continuous and uninterrupted mode, may occur up to a limit of 120 average megawatts (MW) per month, according to an ordinance issued in October by the Brazilian government. This amount of energy will become part of the operation schedule of the Brazilian electrical system by the operator ONS.
Importing companies will be responsible for transporting energy to Brazil, and must sign a contract for the use of the transmission system (CUST) and obtain other authorizations.
The import of energy from Paraguay for sale on the Brazilian free market is a novelty and was negotiated within the scope of diplomatic conversations between the two countries on future new rules for trading energy from Itaipu.
The Administración Nacional de Electricidad (ANDE), responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of energy in Paraguay, has already held a tender this year to sell around 100 MW of energy generated by the Acaray hydroelectric plant to traders in Brazil. The auction, which included the participation of several companies, resulted in price offers ranging from US$7 to US$21 per megawatt-hour (MWh). There is no information yet on the completion of this process.
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