A questão regulatória nas privatizações da Light e da Escelsa

Abstract

Despite the successful privatization of Light and Escelsa, the interest shown initially by some investor groups did not come to fruition. They apparently still believe the regulatory risk in the Brazilian electric power industry is too high. Thanks to Laws 8.987/95 (the Concession Law) and 9.074/95, which spell out the rules for concession bidding, the controlling interest in Light and Escelsa was transferred to private owners and the relations between conceding authority and concessionaires were regulated via a concession agreement. This agreement was an improvement in the Light sale as compared to Escelsa, but some doubt still remains regarding the new operating practices for the power industry and its regulatory framework. The aim of this article is to review the key issues impacting recent privatizations and requiring permanent rethinking and improvement to attract more investors for future sale of other electric power utilities.