BNDES says Angra 3 nuclear power plant project will be canceled if Eletrobrás is not privatized

So far, around 67% of the plant's civil works have been carried out, but the president of the BNDES warns that the work could be canceled.

The privatization of Eletrobrás was again strongly discussed this week. On Thursday (07), the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, used the war in Ucrania to defend the transfer of the public company to the private initiative due to the geopolitical risk of energy security. Then it was the turn of the president of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), Gustavo Montezano, talk about the subject bringing a threat: either Eletrobrás is privatized or the Angra 3 nuclear power plant will be closed.

The warning by the BNDES representative came during an event at the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), which discussed the company's capitalization model, also on Thursday (7).

For Montezano, if the privatization of Eletrobras fails, there will be the non-receipt of the grant values ​​and even effects on the company's share price, one being the stoppage of the construction of the nuclear power plant of cove 3 a result and, consequently, the closure of the enterprise.

Currently, works at the Angra 3 plant are at 67%, according to Eletrobrás itself. The project is located in the region of Angra dos Reis, in Rio de Janeiro, and has been quoted to be the third nuclear power plant in Brazil, with capacity to generate more than 12 million megawatt hours per year.

The defenders of privatization justify that Eletrobrás may have a greater chance of investments if it is capitalized. The Government expects the project to start commercial operation in November 2026.

Works at the Angra 3 plant were resumed less than two months ago

In February of this year, a contract was signed with the consortium formed by Ferreira Guedes, Matricial and Adtranz, which would allow the resumption of work on the Angra 3 nuclear power plant. BRL 2015 billion spent. Less than two months later, there is a threat of the project being canceled.

Will society bear the costs of not privatizing Eletrobrás?

For the president of the BNDES, Gustavo Montezano, there is the possibility that Brazilians, once again, will have to bear the losses if the privatization of the public company is not carried out.

“We are going to have an Eletrobrás with a more restricted investment capacity than if it were capitalized. The company and Brazilian society may have to bear the costs of closing Angra 3”.

Alert Gustavo Montezano – president of BNDES

In addition to the costs of an eventual closure of the Angra 3 nuclear power plant, there is the possibility that the Tucuruí hydroelectric plant, in southern Pará, will leave the Eletrobrás generation platform.

Eletrobrás is the target of political debate even before its creation

Eletrobras was proposed in 1954 by President Getúlio Vargas and was only approved 7 years after Congress. The project met with great opposition. Only in April 1961 was it signed by Jânio Quadros.

Eletrobrás was only installed on June 11, 1962, in a formal session of the National Water and Electric Energy Council (CNAEE), at Palácio Laranjeiras, in Rio de Janeiro, with the presence of the then new president João Goulart.

Institutional reforms and privatizations in the 1990s led to the loss of some functions and changes in the profile of the state-owned company. The company also started to operate in the distribution of electricity, through companies in the Northeast and North until it ended distribution activities in 2018.

Source: Eletrobrás