Overview

• The term of conciliation signed in early October sets compensation via abatements on Águas do Rio’s payments to Cedae through 2056, which the company estimates at about R$900 million and says could reach roughly R$1.4 billion with monetary correction.
• The mechanism reduces what the distributor pays Cedae for treated water—currently around R$150 million per month—until the agreed amount is offset.
• The government asserts there was no material error in the privatization data, saying the edital relied on SNIS and Cedae records modeled with BNDES input and framing the measure as a technical, temporary safeguard to avoid tariff hikes and delays to projects.
• Agenersa issued a legal opinion backing the arrangement and has led the conciliation since 2023, with the agreement described as liminar and still under regulatory review and Cedae board monitoring.
• The dispute arises from discrepancies between sewage-coverage figures in the bid documents and the concessionaire’s field findings, with reported shortfalls in municipalities such as Magé, Nilópolis, Belford Roxo and Duque de Caxias.