EDP, a 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. As a result, the Company anticipated the start of operation of this stretch of the project by 12 months.
 
Lot 11 is composed of two transmission lines totaling 203 kilometers in length. The first stretch, the 230 KV - SE Coelho Neto/SE Chapadinha II, 74 km long, was already in commercial operation since January this year, 19 months ahead of schedule for the National Agency of Electrical Energy (Aneel). The project, which also included the expansion of the Miranda do Norte and Coelho Neto power substations, received an investment of R$ 182 million and generated 1,100 direct jobs during construction.

With the completion of Lot 11, EDP maintains its history of early deliveries compared to the schedule stipulated by Aneel. To this end, the company relied on the knowledge and excellence in delivering major projects and its experience in the area of regulated networks, in which the Group currently concentrates most of its growth investments. 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 completion of Lot 11 consolidates EDP's path of excellence in delivering large projects. It is a work that reinforces the reliability of the national electrical system and represents a fundamental infrastructure to stimulate the economic development of the Brazilian Northeast more and more”, highlights Luiz Otávio Henriques, EDP's vice president of Generation, Transmission and Commercialization.

Also in Maranhão, EDP is also responsible for the implementation of another Transmission project, Lot 7 of Aneel Auction No. 005/2016, which received an installation license in July 2019. Sold in 2016, 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
EDP has already invested R$ 2.7 billion in Transmission works and projects. Will be R$ 3.8 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 2019, EDP Transmission 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.