Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
4 min of reading 
34 comments 
The Historical Privatization of Eletrobras in 2022 Transformed the State-Owned Company Into a Corporation With Dispersed Capital, Resulting From a Long and Complex Process Marked by Opposing Views on the Future of the Electric Sector in Brazil.
In June 2022, Brazil witnessed one of the largest events in its capital market: the privatization of Eletrobras. Through a share offer that raised R$ 33.7 billion, the Union diluted its shareholding and ceased to be the controlling shareholder of the largest energy company in Latin America, which became a corporation with dispersed capital.
The process was defended by the government at the time as an essential measure to ensure the company’s investment capacity and modernization, but faced strong opposition from sectors warning about risks to energy sovereignty and increased tariffs. The transaction, completed in 2022, continued to generate debates and a legal dispute with the new government, which was resolved with an agreement in 2025, defining the new configuration of the company.
The Path to the Privatization of Eletrobras: The Crisis and the New Law
The decision to privatize Eletrobras was the culmination of a deep crisis that the company faced starting in 2014. A combination of factors, such as the impacts of Operation Car Wash, a fuel pricing policy that caused losses, and high indebtedness, left the state-owned company with severely limited investment capacity.
-
China has deployed over 1,400 fishing boats in formation, creating a barrier of 320 kilometers at sea, and the whole world wants to know if this is fishing, military exercise, or a message of war.
-
Where there was only sand and wind at 40 degrees, China built a megacity of 500,000 inhabitants with farms, wineries, and universities in the middle of the desert using melted glacier water from hundreds of kilometers away.
-
Theories about UFOs have resurfaced strongly after an aerospace scientist and a general linked to the Roswell case mysteriously disappeared in the United States within a few months, and even the FBI was called in to investigate.
-
Neither in the refrigerator nor in the fruit bowl: this is the correct way to store lemon.
In this context, the government argued that the only way to “unlock” the company’s potential was privatization. The legal instrument for this was Law No. 14,182/2021. It authorized a capitalization model, in which new shares would be issued without the participation of the Union, which, in practice, would reduce government control to less than 50%.
The Mega Operation of Eletrobras’ Privatization: How the Sale Happened in June 2022
The operation that actualized the privatization of Eletrobras was one of the largest in the history of the Brazilian stock exchange. On June 9, 2022, the company launched a global share offer, with each share priced at R$ 42.00.
The total offer raised around R$ 33.7 billion. The majority of this amount (R$ 30.76 billion) was injected directly into the company’s cash, with the goal of financing new investments. A notable fact was the strong participation of small investors and workers, who applied R$ 6 billion of their FGTS balances to purchase shares of the company.
The Controversies of Eletrobras’ Privatization: The Pro and Con Arguments
The privatization of Eletrobras divided opinions and was surrounded by controversies. Proponents of the measure argued that, as a private company, Eletrobras would have more agility and investment capacity, which was essential for the security of the national electric sector.
Critics, on the other hand, raised various concerns. The Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) approved the process by a vote of 7 to 1, but the opposing vote, by Minister Vital do Rêgo, pointed to an undervaluation of the company’s assets. Unions and social movements warned that the sale of control of a strategic asset represented a loss of sovereignty and would lead to an inevitable increase in electricity bills.
Furthermore, the privatization law included the obligation to contract 8,000 MW of new gas-fired thermal power plants, a measure criticized by experts for its high cost, estimated at R$ 52 billion more on Brazilian electricity bills.
The New Eletrobras and the Dispute With the Lula Government
After the privatization of Eletrobras, the company began a restructuring under CEO Wilson Ferreira Jr., focusing on efficiency and cost-cutting, recording a profit of R$ 4.4 billion in 2023.
However, the change of government in Brazil led to a new conflict. In May 2023, President Lula’s government filed a Direct Action of Unconstitutionality (ADI) in the Supreme Federal Court (STF). The goal was to annul the clause of the law that limited the Union’s voting power to only 10%, even though the government was still the largest shareholder, with 42% of the shares.
The 2025 Agreement: The End of the Dispute and the Future of the Company
The legal battle generated great uncertainty in the market, but was resolved with an agreement in late February 2025. The negotiation, which ended the case at the STF, was a trade-off that defined the new power structure in the company.
Under the agreement, the government accepted to maintain the 10% limit on voting power. In exchange, gained more representation on the board, with the right to appoint three of the ten members of the Board of Directors. For Eletrobras, the biggest victory was to be free from the obligation to invest in the completion of the problematic Angra 3 nuclear plant, a high-risk liability that is now back to being the government’s responsibility.
Privatização mata um país! É só lembrar os acidentes ambientais e humanos da Vale. Os desgoverno de direita desde FHC aceleraram a privatização e entregaram as estatais para estrangeiros.
A pior atitude do governo anterior foi privatizar a Eletrobras. Um setor estratégico.
Privatizar irá sucatas mais a empresa. Vejam exemplos que o zema quer privatizar a Cemig e Copasa em Minas. As tarifas irão aumentar e não terão qualidades. Quando faltam energia e ou água nos fds, as companhias se mobilizam para tomar ações rápidas, e se privatizar só teremos retornos dis serviços só ” Deus sabe”. Olham os serviços privatizados no RJ. Sem Quaidades e sem respeito com o meio ambiente.
Quero ver o inteligente me desafiar.!!!
Aguardo.
Se o zema privatizar irá vender ou dar para os amigos. Isso que o zema faz. Vejam na Cemig e Copasa quanto de amigos que esse governo colocou nas companhias. Muito mais que os governos anteriores colocaram.