en.Wedoany.com Reported - Brazil's National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) is expected to review next Tuesday (21st) a procedure to extend by 20 years the contracts of plants participating in the Alternative Power Sources Incentive Program (Proinfa), with the vote already included on the agency's agenda.

The legal basis for this contract extension is Law No. 14,182 of 2021 (the Eletrobras Privatization Law) and Decree No. 10,798 of 2021, with the precondition that the relevant plants waive discounts on transmission and distribution system usage fees.

Proinfa was established on April 26, 2002, under Law No. 10,438, aiming to increase the share of wind, biomass, and small hydroelectric plants (PCHs) in the National Interconnected System. The law allows for a further 20-year extension of power purchase and sale contracts, provided that the parties have expressed consent by July 7, 2025, with the extension calculated from the original expiration date of each contract.

To take over the responsibilities previously held by Eletrobras, the Brazilian Nuclear and Bilateral Energy Participation Company (ENBPar) was created. This state-owned enterprise, under the Ministry of Mines and Energy, will manage the new contracts. A total of 83 plants have expressed interest in renewal.

The regulation also involves the renegotiation of hydrological risks for hydroelectric plants participating in the Energy Reallocation Mechanism (MRE) and allows for future paid extensions of concessions for hydropower projects with capacities greater than 5 MW and up to 50 MW. Due to differing contract termination dates, the new validity periods will extend to various times between 2046 and 2051.