By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazil’s power regulator Aneel rejected a request from Light Energia, part of Light SA (LIGT3), to allow companies under judicial recovery — or their direct and indirect holding companies — to participate in the country’s upcoming capacity reserve auction scheduled for March.
The company argued that the restriction stems from what it called an “excessively restrictive” interpretation of the economic and financial qualification rules under Brazil’s new public procurement law.
Aneel director Fernando Mosna pushed back against the proposal, warning that opening the auction to companies undergoing court-supervised restructuring could create what he described as a “perverse and harmful consequence” for the market. “We are talking about massive investments,” Mosna said.
Light also cited previous rulings from Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ) and the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), which in certain cases have allowed companies under judicial recovery to take part in public tenders, provided they can prove financial capacity and present certification issued by the court overseeing the restructuring process.
Despite those precedents, Aneel maintained its stance that firms in judicial recovery should be barred from the capacity auction, given the long-term commitments and large-scale investments required under the mechanism.