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The electricity sector regulatory agency (Aneel, Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica) has completed a review of electricity charges in four states in the Northeastern region of Brazil and decided to authorize several increases.
Aneel authoritizes increases in four states in Northeast
Aneel, electricity, power,
Benedito Mendonça
Brazil Authorizes Power Bill Increases of Up to 16%
Electricity
The electricity sector regulatory agency (Aneel, Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica) has completed a review of electricity charges in four states in the Northeastern region of Brazil and decided to authorize several increases.
The raises include 10.96% for the Companhia Energética do Maranhão (Cemar); 16.47% for the Companhia Energética do Piauí (Cepisa); 14.26% for the Sociedade Anônima de Eletrificação da Paraíba (Saelpa); and 7.21% for the Companhia Energética de Alagoas (Ceal).
The new charges, which become effective this Sunday, August 28, will affect 217 municipalities in Maranhão, 233 in Piauí, 216 in Paraíba and 102 in Alagoas.
The Brazilian Association of Electric Power Distributors (Abradee) calculates that the electric sector will pile up a record of public and private investments in 2005, around US$ 2.54 billion (5.98 billion reais). This amount is nearly 60% more than what was invested in 2004: US$ 1.58 billlion (3.74 billion reais).
A great part of the funds, US$ 1.0l billion of the US$ 2.54 billion total, are coming from the federal government.
According to a survey conducted by another organization, the Brazilian Association of Electric and Electronic Industries (Abinee), the number of jobs in the electric power distribution industry has also grown as a result of the implantion of the Light for All program, in 2003.
The number of workers in the sector rose from 20,200 to 22,500 between December, 2004, and April, 20, a 11.3% increase in four months.
"The Light for All program is an excellent bit of news for all the companies in the electricity distribution sector. The demand for equipment and material and 2004 and 2005 is estimated to be worth US$ 720 million (R$ 1.7 billion)," explains Newton José Leme Duarte, director of Abinee's area of Generation, Transmission, and Distribution
"The program was stepped up in the universalization of access to electricity, previously set for 2015. The schedule was changed to carry out the plan in four years. The only way that this is possible is with substantial investments by distributors of electricity and the government, which are spending a lot on their projects.
"There is no doubt when it comes to their increasing their investments, and there will be more jobs in consequence of the program" affirms the president of the Abradee, Luiz Carlos Guimarães.
ABr
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