[ad_1]
Energy crisis in Amapá, blackout in Macapá. Protests in the Santa Rita neighborhood on November 7, 2020 (Photo: Rudja Santos / Amazônia Real)
The blackout that affected Amapá caused a reaction in the National Congress against the privatization of Eletrobras (ELET3; ELET6) and other companies in the electricity sector.
The bill sent by the government last year is stuck in the House. The Planalto discussed a strategy to refer the vote to the Senate, but the possibility faces technical obstacles. Without privatization, parliamentarians are demanding greater supervision of power generation and distribution companies to prevent further disasters.
The damaged substation is operated by concessionaire Linhas de Macapá Transmissora de Energia. This concession belonged to the Spanish company Isolux, which went into bankruptcy, and is today called Gemini Energy. Gemini Energy has an 85.04% stake in the line, and 14.96% belongs to the Superintendency of Amazon Development (Sudam), a federal agency linked to the Ministry of Regional Development. Criticizing the privatizations, parliamentarians used the episode to say that the entry of the private sector into the sector does not solve problems.
InfoMoney rewards the best companies on Exchange in 2020; Check out the full awards calendar and sign up, free of charge, to participate in the event.
The reaction of Congress was exposed during a meeting of the Joint Covid-19 Commission, formed to monitor government actions during the new coronavirus pandemic. MPs criticized the fact that the problem occurred in a system awarded to a company. In addition, they criticized the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel), in charge of inspecting companies. “The public monopoly is very bad, but at least you have someone to curse. The private monopoly, with a regulatory agency that does not work efficiently, is much more despotic, because generally the thinking head and the one who governs the money lives far away, ”said Senator Esperidião Amin (PP-SC).
Along the same lines was Senator Izalci Lucas (PSDB-DF), recalling the privatization process of Companhia Energética de Brasília (CEB). “Imagine a company like Amapá participating in an auction, winning and managing our city, the capital of the Republic. We can remain in a generalized blackout in the capital of the Republic ”, he said. “It is time to reflect a little on this: if the solution would not be to improve management instead of privatization.” The commission approved an invitation to the CEO of Aneel, André Pepitone da Nóbrega, to clarify the blackout in Amapá. Parliamentarians want to hold the hearing tomorrow.
Relationship
Eletrobras has no direct relationship with the incident that left the people of Amapa in darkness. However, given the situation of public calamity, the federal government endorsed Eletronorte, a subsidiary of the state company, to act to restore service.
Aneel affirmed that the agency will verify with “all rigor” the responsibility of those involved in the episode that left most of the cities of Amapá without electricity.
The government awaits a signal from the president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (DEM-AP), on the next steps of the Eletrobras project. Earlier this week, the congressman defended the impeachment of the company that operates the transmission line in the state and asked Eletronorte to take over the service.
In a note, Gimini Energy, owner of Linhas de Macapá, stated that it has been operating in the transmission sector since 2008 and values quality and excellence both in its operations and services and in the training of its teams. According to the company, the technical causes of the incident are still being investigated.
[ad_2]
