Nov 16, 2020

As the structurer of the concession process, the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) participated today, November 16th, in a public hearing held by the State of Rio Grande do Sul, for the auction of the State Electricity Distribution Company (CEEE- D – Companhia Estadual de Distribuição de Energia Elétrica). The company holds a concession for electricity distribution services in the State, operating in the metropolitan (including the capital, Porto Alegre), Mid-Southern, Southeastern, Northern and Southern Coast regions of the State.

According to BNDES’s Managing Director of Privatizations, Leonardo Cabral, “the CEEE-D sale should make the service more efficient, with operational rationality and significant increase in company investments.” In the coming weeks, the State will promote presentations to potential investors. The announcement is expected to be published in the first week of December and the public auction is scheduled in February 2021. BNDES is also promoting the auction of CEB Distribution – another company of the electric sector –, in Brasília, still in 2020.

The CEEE-D concession area occupies 26% of the State’s territory. This area contains 72 cities, with a population of around 4 million people (35% of the state's population), serving 1.75 million customers.

The audience aimed to inform the public and receive suggestions and contributions to the privatization process, and it was held virtually here. The Board of Directors of the Public Hearing was composed of: Artur Lemos Júnior, Secretary of Environment and Infrastructure of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (President of the Session); Marco Aurélio Cardoso, Secretary of Finance of the State of Rio Grande do Sul; Marco da Camino Ancona Lopez Soligo, President of the CEEE Group; Marcos Torreão, Head of the BNDES’s Company Structuring and Divestment Department; and Ricardo Justo, representative of the Minuano Energy Consortium.

In view of State Law N° 15,298, 2020, which authorized the privatization of CEEE-D, the State hired BNDES to structure the Company’s privatization project. BNDES is responsible for contracting and managing technical services necessary to the project execution, as well as for its coordination, providing proper technical support to the State and the company throughout the privatization process. Some of the activities that BNDES will oversee:

• work integration along with consultants and other contracted service providers, competent public bodies and interested third parties;
• monitoring, support and technical evaluation of all studies, documents and information produced by technical consultants, even in their preliminary versions, to ensure quality of the work and adequacy to the guidelines informed by the asset holder or by competent federal agencies that regulate the electric sector; and
• technical support to the contractor in making decisions regarding the project.

More information about the process is available here.

About BNDES – Founded in 1952 and currently linked to the Ministry of Economy, BNDES is the main instrument of the Federal Government to promote long-term investments in the Brazilian economy. Its actions focus on the socio-environmental and economic impact in Brazil. BNDES offers special conditions for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, as well as social investment lines, directed at education and health, family agriculture, sanitation and urban transport. In crisis situations, BNDES acts in an anticyclical manner and assists in formulating solutions for resuming economic growth.