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

Overview

• Aneel’s board approved a formal recommendation to the Mines and Energy Ministry to renew Light’s distribution concession for 30 years, concluding the company met technical, service continuity and economic‑financial criteria.
• Light’s case advanced despite its 2023 court‑supervised restructuring, and directors noted the renewal aligns with decree‑based rules as a dissenting analysis sought tougher benchmarks without blocking the recommendation.
• The draft terms tied to upcoming renewals add obligations such as consumer satisfaction metrics and network digitalization, and allow tariff treatment tailored to areas with high losses and delinquency in Light’s territory.
• The Enel São Paulo proceeding was paused after a request for review by director Gentil Nogueira, following a vote by the case rapporteur to extend reinforced monitoring through March 2026 to test results in the rainy season.
• Technical reports acknowledged operational gains at Enel SP—90% fewer outages longer than 24 hours and a 50% faster emergency response since late 2023—yet flagged performance still below state peers and cited unpaid fines exceeding R$262 million.