The expansion of Brazil’s energy transmission system will require around 34.7bn reais (US$5.7bn) in investments by 2039, according to federal energy research company EPE.

The amount will be earmarked for 8,900km of new transmission lines and 64,100MVA in new substations.

The 2025 transmission auction alone is expected to attract 4.6bn reais. Generally, the government holds two auctions a year, but this year the expectation is for just one, in October, Mario Miranda, executive president of transmission companies’ association ABRATE, told BNamericas.

Miranda said the belief in the legal and regulatory security of the sector has proved capable of attracting qualified investors to the auctions.

ln addition, the reverse nature of the tenders, with the establishment of a ceiling price, leads to contests that allow the final values to be lower than those calculated in the annual permitted revenue (RAP).

“ln this way, the big beneficiary is the consumer, who will have a guaranteed energy supply ata lower price than specified,” Miranda told BNamericas.

latest au tion, held in September, saw an average discount rate of 48.9% in relation to the RAP.

Miranda said this year Brazil will see the full integration of states into the national interconnected grid (SIN), with the connection of Roraima, the only state still isolated.

“This will reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, which are more expensive than the normal option, as well as improve the security of the electricity supply,” he said.

Between 2022 and 2024, the auctions held by electric power watchdog An el attracted investments of around 80bn reais. Their purpose was mainly to connect renewable generation projects in the northeast to the country’s main load centers in the southeast/center-west.

Breakdown of investments

 Of the total capex forecast by EPE, 19.2bn reais relate to investments in transmission lines, while 15.Sbn reais are for substations.

Approximately 25bn reais are for investments in tendered facilities, while 9.7bn reais are associated with authorized facilities (already tendered).

Of the total, 15.6bn reais are forecast to goto the southeast/center­ west submarket, 12.4bn reais to the south, 3.7bn reais to the north and 3bn reais to the northeast.

Font.: BNamericas,