Companies to invest US$ 15.6 billion in plants
Folha de S. Paulo 09/29/10
Large consumers and self-producers of energy, such as Vale, CSN, Gerdau, Votorantim, Alcoa and Camargo Corrêa, will invest, together, R$ 27.3 billion (US$ 15.6 billion) in the construction of power plants by 2020. The investment is necessary to meet the estimated growth of 66% in the consumption of the electro-intensive industries - in which the energy represents 30% to 35% of the final cost of the items made or extracted by mining and steel industries, for instance.Those companies have to build plants with total capacity to generate 6,033 MW - little less than that produced by the two hydroelectric power plants of Rio Madeira (Santo Antônio and Jirau) - to support their expansion plans. The data are featured in an unprecedented survey made by the Abiape (Brazilian Association of the Investors in Self-Production of Energy) obtained by Folha.
To remain competitive and with costs under control, companies have to produce at least 65% of the energy they consume, points out the study. The self-reproduction currently corresponds to 50% of the demand for energy of those companies. According to Mario Menel, President of the Abiape, only with the volume of investments foreseen in the study they will achieve the goal and be able to remain competitive on the global scenario.
The executive says the companies do not suffer restriction of capital to invest. That because they stopped allocating resources in the area of energy since 2003 due to the lack of projects of new plants and the imposition of rules that hampered the participation of self-producers in the auctions of the Government. Nevertheless, Menel assesses the situation "changed" after the auction of Belo Monte, this year, when it was established the goal of 10% of participation of self-producers in the consortia that compete for the grant of the plant.
"We believe that premise will be maintained, and the self-producers will have a share assured in the large projects of power generation that will be bid in the Tapajós River [five power plants with 10,600 MW of energy]". According to Menel, the self-producers benefit from the current favorable cycle in the price of the commodities (such as steel and iron), but they need to have the guarantee of supply of energy at a "consistent cost" to plan investments in the increase of production in the long term.