Agency directors agreed that there were no reasons to block progress to the contract signing phase because there was no court decision to overturn the tender.
The board of directors of Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency) unanimously decided this Thursday (May 21, 2026) to approve the results of the 1st part of the LRCap (Capacity Reserve Auction in the form of Power), which contracted power from thermoelectric, oil and biodiesel plants.
The decision allows the hiring process for companies that won products with estimated delivery for 2026 to move forward. According to the dispute notice, the results of this 1st stage should be approved by this Thursday (May 21).
Eneva, Petrobras, Âmbar (from the J&F group), UTE Paulínia Verde and Usina Thermoelectric Norte Fluminense, Companhia Energética de Petrolina and Usina Xavantes SA were the winners of this stage, which contracted 2,18 MW by R$24.6 billion. Companies now have 25 days to move to the contract signing phase.
without hindrance
The agency’s directors accompanied rapporteur Fernando Mosna, who voted to approve the results, on the grounds that there are no legal or technical impediments that justify stopping the process. Read the positioning (PDF – 320 kB).
Aneel’s approval occurs amid a wave of judicialization of the event, which is the target of actions in the TCU (União Court of Auditors), in the Federal Court, in the MPF (Federal Public Ministry) and in Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense).
As shown by the Poder360congressmen, associations and companies linked to the energy sector question the increase in the dispute’s ceiling prices, low discount, contracted power volume and concentration of winning contracts in the hands of large economic conglomerates.
In his vote, Mosna mentioned that the requests for an injunction to suspend the event were rejected by the Federal Court, which has already analyzed the case in the Federal District, São Paulo and Ceará. For the rapporteur, the absence of an impeding judicial decision authorizes the continuation of the administrative process.
When analyzing possible irregularities in ceiling prices, Mosna mentioned that the increase was motivated by cyclical factors, such as the global cost shock, the need to modernize existing plants and technical refinement of the cost structure, in order to ensure that the auction parameters had greater adherence to market reality .
Regarding the amount contracted, the director understood that the definition of the volume is up to the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), based on technical studies by EPE (Energy Research Company) and ONS (National Electric System Operator).
For the agency’s general director, Sandoval Feitosa, no question regarding the auction concerns Aneel, which is only responsible for operationalizing the dispute. Feitosa praised the conduct of the event and stated that all questioned points should be addressed to the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
The Aneel Attorney’s Office’s statement followed the same path: the body recalled that the Judiciary did not identify any fact that could delegitimize the dispute and that Aneel does not have the administrative or technical competence to contest decisions of the granting authority (in this case, the Executive) on prices, contracted volume and technical criteria that were decided even before the dispute.
“Aneel’s role is not to review government choices. The agency must act to ensure the regularity of the bidding procedure. Homologation and approval are part of a natural process”said Aneel’s attorney general, Eduardo Ramalho.
