Aneel Approves New Pole-Sharing Rules, Drops Mandatory Transfer to Third-Party Managers

Overview

• Brazil’s electricity regulator removed the requirement that distributors cede commercial management of pole space to independent “posteiros,” allowing them to manage directly or opt to transfer.
• Transfer can still be imposed by the regulators if a distributor abandons the activity, performs poorly in sharing, or if a public-interest need is determined.
• Aneel preserved the tariff-reduction mechanism that channels part of pole revenue to lower power bills and kept a provisional price reference of R$ 5.84 per attachment point, updated by IPCA.
• The rule launches a multi-year cleanup of an estimated 10–15 million critical poles, with telecom firms given 120 days to identify their attachment points and responsible for removing idle cables.
• Because Aneel’s text diverges from Anatel’s 2023 rule, the agencies will renegotiate a joint regulation as the legal dispute over compulsory cession goes to the PGF/AGU, while Anatel is collecting sharing contracts from broadband providers through March 2026.