EDP, a company that operates across all segments of the country’s electricity industry, has obtained a Construction License (LI) from the Maranhão State Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMA) to build 201.5 kilometers of energy transmission lines in the cities of Miranda do Norte, Matão do Norte, Cantanhede, Pirapemas, Vargem Grande, Chapadinha and Coelho Neto. This venture will also expand the Miranda do Norte II and Coelho Neto electric substations and includes construction of the new Chapadinha II substation, all located in cities of the same name.

At the License means the company can begin immediate construction of lot 11, which will improve the electrical energy supply in the northeastern region of Maranhão and northwestern region of Piauí. Work is expected to be completed in the first half of 2020.

At the company is investing R$ 182 million and construction is expected to generate 120 direct jobs.  “This license is an important step towards in this project, which will improve power supplies and increase system reliability”, said Luiz Otávio Henriques, VP of Generation and Transmission at EDP.

EDP is also responsible for deploying another transmission line project in Maranhão, pending environmental licensing. Acquired by the company in ANEEL Transmission Lines Auction No. 5/2016, lot 07 includes 128 kilometers of energy transmission lines and a new substation. These transmission lines will provide electricity to the metropolitan region of São Luís.

“Our main goal is to help improve the national electrical grid with our brand of service excellence and project delivery ahead of schedule”, said the executive.

A history of efficiency

At the management model EDP adopts when building its transmission lines is the same one used in its Generation business, which resulted in the Company delivering three hydroelectric plants ahead of schedule. With a unique approach to project management and oversight, construction of the São Manoel HEU (Hydroelectric Unit), which was finished in April 2018, was the third EDP project fulfilled ahead of the regulatory deadline, following the Cachoeira Caldeirão HEU, concluded in 2016 eight months ahead of scheduled and the Santo Antônio do Jari  HEU, constructed in 2014 and finished five months earlier than expected.

At the end of 2018, the Company announced completion of lot 24, in Espírito Santo, including 113 kilometers of energy transmission lines and a new substation, all concluded 20 months ahead of the schedule stipulated in the concession agreement signed with the National Electricity Energy Agency (ANEEL).

Overall, the Company is committed to investing around R$ 3 billion in new energy transmission projects that will add approximately 1,200 kilometers of transmission lines to the national grid in the states of Santa Catarina, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Espírito Santo and Maranhão.

Nother lots in licensing stage

Lot 18, which includes 375 kilometers of energy transmission lines between São Paulo and Minas Gerais, is still in the environmental licensing stage. EDP expects to invest R$ 1.3 billion in construction work.

In December 2018, the Company received a Construction License (LI) to build a second electrical energy substation in the city of Siderópolis, Santa Catarina. This work is part of lot 21, which also includes 433 kilometers of transmission lines between the cities of Biguaçu and Campos Novos, in Santa Catarina. Investment in this project is expected to reach R$ billion and should generate 1.2 thousand new jobs.

About EDP Brazil

EDP has over 20 years’ experience and is one of the biggest private-sector companies operating across the entire value chain. The Company has over 10,000 direct and indirect staff and is involved in energy Generation, Distribution, Transmission, Sales and Services. The company has six hydro power plants and one thermal power station that services around 3.4 million people in the states of São Paulo and Espírito Santo. The Company recently acquired a stake in CELESC, from Santa Catarina. In Brazil, the company is noted for its Innovation, Governance and Sustainability and has been included in the B3 Business Sustainability Index (BSI) for 13 consecutive years.