Aneel Backs 30-Year Renewal for Light, Delays Decision on Enel São Paulo Sanctions

Overview

• The regulator’s board approved recommending a 30-year extension for Light’s distribution concession and sent the case to the Mines and Energy Ministry, which would carry the contract to 2056 if signed.
• Technical reports concluded Light met continuity, economic-financial and legal-documentation criteria after its court-supervised restructuring; the utility serves about 4.3 million customers across 31 municipalities in Rio de Janeiro.
• The draft renewal framework adds obligations such as consumer-satisfaction targets, annual financial health checks, network digitalization and differentiated tariffs for high‑complexity areas with losses and access risks.
• A separate ruling on possible caducity for Enel São Paulo was postponed after a request for review, with the case’s rapporteur supporting extended monitoring through March 2026 to evaluate performance during the wet season.
• Enel SP cites a 50% improvement in emergency response time and a 90% drop in outages longer than 24 hours since November 2023, while Aneel’s staff say durability must be proven; Aneel’s director-general warned new generator compensation rules will lift consumer tariffs.