Auction of transmission is expected to attract Chinese companies
Valor Econômico
The auction of transmission of energy, scheduled for June 11, will again a strong presence of state and foreign companies, but the bids of Spanish companies, once common, may be replaced by Chinese offers. The level of discount in the bidding for construction, operation and maintenance of over 700 km of transmission lines will depend on the Chinese appetite and on Eletrobras, according to experts heard by Reuters.
The National Agency of Electrical Energy (Aneel) will auction concessions for nine lots in São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Pará, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Bahia and Alagoas. The investments are estimated in R$ 700 million (US$ 400 million) and wins the bidder that offers the lowest Allowed Annual Revenue (RAP), the earnings to which it is entitled for the service provided from the entry into operation. The lot most disputed should be the Araraquara-Taubaté (SP). With 356 km, the RAP will be of R$ 31.2 million (US$ 17.8 million). "The government policy is the back of the state companies as big investors. Furthermore, we are in an election year, and government can show competitiveness", said the director of the Brazilian Center for Infrastructure, Adriano Pires.
Last year, there were two auctions of transmission. Both had a strong presence of companies from Eletrobras (Eletrosul, Eletronorte, Furnas and Chesf), although Spain was still present. In the first, Spain's Abengoa, in partnership with Eletronorte and CTEEP, purchased 2 lots of 12 lots. In the second, in November, the Spanish Cobra Instalaciones - that had already won an auction at the end of 2008 - agreed to have earnings of 26.2% lower than the maximum revenue for one of the eight lots offered. At the end of the day, the biggest discount on the auction of May 2009 was 47.2%, while in November it was 32.44%.
Pires weighs up that the time of strong Spanish participation in energy auctions ended. "At the beginning of the decade, Spain has grown a lot and they came to Brazil in infrastructure, but the situation has changed ... I have not ruled out the participation, but the bids will not be aggressive." The expectation of low participation of Spanish investors is explained, in part, by the fiscal crisis in the euro area, including in Spain, where it commenced this year.
Last week, the Chinese state company Grid Corporation bought seven of the twelve companies of Plena Transmissoras, of Spanish control, for R$ 3.1 billion (US$ 1.8 billion, marking the entrance of the Chinese in the electricity sector in Brazil. The general manager of the Brazilian Association of Power Transmission Companies (Abrate), Cesar de Barros Pinto, believes that the State Grid will make proposals in the next auction. Nivalde de Castro, from UFRJ, disagrees. "Normally, after an acquisition like this, they wait to take a stand. Auctions of transmission always occur, and they must wait." Another candidates are Cemig, Copel, Alupar and CTEEP. From the four, only the latter two manifested themselves, so far.