en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) has formally terminated its investigation into alleged overspending of 13.8 million reais in the expansion project of the Luís Carlos Prestes Thermal Power Plant (also known as the Três Lagoas Thermal Power Plant, UTE Três Lagoas), ruling that the case has exceeded the statutory limitation period, and has decided to archive the case.
This decision is based on Ruling No. 1319/2026 approved by the TCU Plenary. The court attributed the irregularities to José Sérgio Gabrielli de Azevedo, then President of Petrobras, and five department managers involved in the bidding process. The implicated companies also include Zopone Engenharia e Comércio and Engecampo.
The case originated from an audit conducted in 2010 under the Fiscobras program, which identified potential irregularities in contracts for civil construction and electromechanical installation signed by the parties. According to the ruling, analyses by the Specialized Audit Unit for Electricity and Nuclear Energy (Unidade de Auditoria Especializada em Energia Elétrica e Nuclear, AudElétrica) and the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office within the TCU concluded that, based on criteria established by TCU Resolution No. 344/2022, the statute of limitations for imposing penalties and seeking compensation for losses had expired for all responsible parties. The judges therefore decided to recognize the expiration of the limitation period for penalties and compensation claims, deemed the remedial measures previously determined in Ruling No. 396/2011 as no longer applicable, and ordered the final archiving of the case. Case documents indicate that the TCU's decision did not re-examine the substance of the irregularities identified in the original audit but terminated the case proceedings due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
The project under investigation was the expansion of the Três Lagoas Thermal Power Plant in Mato Grosso do Sul state, which aimed to increase power generation capacity from 124.8 MW to 360 MW through the construction of a combined cycle system, intended to improve unit efficiency without additional fuel consumption. The project was managed by Petrobras and was part of the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC). The estimated investment at the time was approximately 381 million reais, distributed across dozens of contracts. This audit focused on contracts representing over 70% of the project's total value, including the procurement of boilers and steam turbines, supply of materials and services for water treatment and wastewater treatment plants, as well as module equipment installation and civil construction services.
In its audit, Fiscobras pointed out a series of irregularities, including a lack of sufficient detail in the price breakdown schedules, which hindered cost analysis, and compensation standards for work stoppages deemed "uneconomical," such as equipment idled due to rain still being compensated as if operational. Another prominent issue was the economic infeasibility of the plant; analytical studies indicated a negative return of US$711 million between 2008 and 2030 due to high natural gas costs. Despite this, building the combined cycle was still seen as an option to reduce operational losses. The audit also noted that Petrobras failed to comply with TCU regulations by not properly standardizing the bidding procedures, violating Article 22, Paragraph 4 of Law No. 9.784/1999.
Prior to the final decision, the TCU had decided to summon the responsible parties and contracting companies for hearings and statements, and requested detailed information on unit cost composition from Petrobras. Concurrently, the TCU allowed the project to continue during the investigation, emphasizing its importance for improving energy efficiency and promoting regional development. The plant currently has an installed capacity of 386 MW and successfully bid in the capacity reserve auction held in March of this year.
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