EDP begins transmission line operation and substation in Maranhão | EDP Brasil

EDP, company that operates in all segments of the Brazilian electricity sector, received from the National Electric System Operator (ONS) the term for the start of the commercial operation of one of the two sections of the Lot 11 of Aneel Auction No. 005/2016. This lot comprises two 230 KV power transmission lines: LT Coelho Neto-Chapadinha II and LT Miranda II-Chapadinha II, which total 203 kilometers, in addition to the new Chapadinha II power substation, located in the same municipality. The project also contemplates the expansion of Miranda do Norte and Coelho Neto substations.

After the release, the system was energized, starting with the Chapadinha substation and lines between Coelho Neto and Chapadinha, 19 months in advance of the calendar stipulated by the National Agency of Electrical Energy (Aneel). The stretch between Miranda and Chapadinha should be energized in January 2020. This advance was made possible thanks to the commitment of the companies involved, the strict monitoring of the schedule and the competent conduct of the environmental licensing process by the State Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources of Maranhão (SEMA).

With a total investment of R$ 182 million and 1,100 direct jobs generated during construction, the Lot 11 projects intercept the municipalities of Miranda do Norte, Matão do Norte, Cantanhede, Pirapemas, Vargem Grande, Chapadinha and Coelho Neto, aiming on improving supply of electricity in the northeast of Maranhão and northwest of Piauí.

“The beginning of the commercial operation represents the crowning of all the work done to make this project viable, which will improve the supply of energy demand in Maranhão, providing the State with the necessary infrastructure to boost its economic development, as well as increasing the reliability of the electric system.” says Luiz Otávio Henriques, EDP's Vice President of Generation and Transmission.

In Maranhão, EDP will also be responsible for the implementation of another Transmission project, which received installation license in July 2019. Sold at the same auction as Aneel, lot 7 consists of 127 kilometers of lines and a new power substation in São Luís (SE São Luís IV). In this case, the project aims to increase the supply of electricity in the north of the state, especially in the metropolitan region of São Luís.

Transmission Investments

By the end of this year, EDP will have invested around R$ 2 billion in Transmission works and projects. Will be R$ 3.5 billion by 2022 for the construction of more than 1.4 thousand kilometers of lines and six substations in the states of Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Maranhão and Espirito Santo.

In October, EDP Transmissão Aliança SC, a company formed by EDP Brasil and Celesc, received from the Santa Catarina Environmental Institute (IMA) the Installation License (IL) to start the last stage of the Lot 21 construction work, between the municipalities of Abdon Batista, Campos Novos and Siderópolis and Forquilhinha. Budgeted at R$ 1.2 billion reais, the venture includes 433 kilometers of transmission lines, the Siderópolis II substation and 991 towers along the route. In the same month, EDP had already received, through its subsidiary EDP Transmission SP-MG, the Installation License for the construction of Lot 18, which includes 375 kilometers of lines and two substations that cross 29 municipalities between the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. With an investment of R$ 1.3 billion, the construction of lot 18 should generate 3,500 jobs at the peak of its works.

At the end of 2018, EDP completed the construction of lot 24, in Espírito Santo, 20 months in advance. The project comprises 113 kilometers of line between the municipalities of Linhares and São Mateus, in the north of Espírito Santo, in addition to the São Mateus II substation. The total investment for the implementation of assets was R$ 116 million.

About EDP in Brazil

With over 20 years of experience, EDP is one of the largest private companies in the electricity sector operating throughout the value chain. The Company, which has over 10,000 direct and outsourced employees, operates in Generation, Distribution, Transmission, Trading and Energy Services. It has six hydroelectric and one thermoelectric generation units, and serves about 3.5 million customers through its Distributors in São Paulo and Espírito Santo, in addition to being CELESC's main shareholder in Santa Catarina. In Brazil, it is a reference in areas such as Innovation, Governance and Sustainability, having been in the B3´s Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) for 14 consecutive years.