Brazil’s electric sector demands $107 bi
Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy Bento Albuquerque said in Rio de Janeiro Monday (Nov. 25) the country’s electric sector will demand investments adding up to some $107 billion until 2029 in new energy transmission and generation plants. Investments are necessary, he argued, as the estimated growth stands at 35 percent for generation and 39 percent for transmission.
“In order for this to happen, we have made an effort to attract investments and identify the costs and real benefits of the several sources of energy generation,” Bento Albuquerque said at a seminar at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation, FGV.
“The strategic vision we’re pursuing consists in further investing in the diversification of our energy network, further introducing sources of renewable and clean energy with more economic rationality. Private domestic and foreign investments are necessary and welcome to boost the energy sector and the Brazilian economy as a whole,” the minister added.
Eletrobras
On the privatization of Eletrobras, Brazil’s government-run electric energy company, the minister said the firm needs to be capitalized “in order to play its crucial role in the field, both for generation and transmission.”
The Brazilian government submitted a privatization bill early this month to the lower house. “We believe the model may be improved with the deliberations in Congress. The country needs Eletrobras, but not the Eletrobras of today, which is destined to end for lack of investment,” he concluded.
