Vale has already received more than R$ 500 million since November 2015, for a power generation plant that has not worked since the tragedy in MG

The mining company Vale decided to maintain the fight in court with Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency), of a hydroelectric plant of its property that does not deliver energy. Vale has already received more than BRL 500 million since November 2015, for a generation of energy that it never delivered from the turbines of its Risoleta Neves hydroelectric plant, in the region of Mariana, in the state of Minas Gerais. Read also Mining company Vale informs that construction of a railroad could cost R$ 8,7 billion

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The Vale plant

The Risoleta Neves hydroelectric plant belongs to the Candonga consortium, with mining company Vale holding 77,5% and Cemig holding 22,5%. The mining company's hydroelectric plant ended operations in November 2015, when one of the biggest environmental tragedies on the planet occurred.

The tragedy threw thousands of tons of iron ore tailings into the river known as “Rio Doce”. The mud passed through 40 cities until it reached the Atlantic Ocean, on the coast of Espírito Santo.

Cancellation of payment to Vale

In May of this year, the case was taken to court and Aneel – National Electric Energy Agency tried to prevent payment to the mining company Vale. Since the tragedy, even if the plant did not produce energy, the company has already received more than R$ 500 million, as if it had been in operation until today.

The total stoppage of the mining company's hydroelectric plant led Aneel to naturally request the suspension of payments to the Risoleta Neves plant as it was unable to generate more energy. However, Vale not only filed an appeal against the agency's administrative procedures, but also appealed and obtained a decision that, until today, maintains payments to the Candonga consortium.

The agency shows that, in fact, all the plants pay monthly to the Risoleta Neves plant and, gradually, pass on the cost to energy consumers in Brazil in the electricity bill. Data from Aneel show that this situation brought direct losses of more than 100 million reais to consumers.

“Old” case of the mining company

In October last year, the President of the STJ, rapporteur and minister, Humberto Martins, rejected Aneel's appeal, upheld the payment requested by Vale and upheld the so-called Energy Relocation Mechanism (MRE). This system was created to reduce the financial impact caused by the risk of lack of rain in the country, that is, to make the other plants with little water available to generate electricity be rewarded with other plants in better conditions. Therefore, the situation is not related to the Risoleta Neves hydroelectric plant, which was swallowed by Samarco's mud.

Aneel appealed against the decision of Minister Humberto Martins and the case will now be analyzed by the Special Court of the STJ, composed of the 15 most senior ministers. The first to vote is the case's rapporteur, who will analyze the agency's arguments against its previous decision. Next, the other ministers will say whether they agree with the rapporteur's vote. The agency, which is represented by the Attorney General's Office, requested that the case be removed from the virtual agenda, where there is no need for discussion during the trial. The fear is that a decision will be made without any discussion on the matter.