Director vents and talks about 'exiting through the front door' after Amapá tariff repercussions
The criticisms of the general director of the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel), Sandoval Feitosa, regarding the decision taken by the majority of the board in the process of reviewing the Equatorial Amapá tariff, were refuted this Tuesday, April 2, by the directors Hélvio Guerra, Fernando Mosna and Ricardo Tili. They called attention to the general director always defending decisions approved unanimously or by majority. Hélvio Guerra, who concludes his second term as director in May, said he will leave the agency "through the front door and with his head held high", despite the clashes between the members of the board.
The impasses between the directors went beyond the public board meetings last Thursday, March 28, when Sandoval was questioned by journalists, at a press conference for the broadcast auction, about the decision on the Amapá tariff, and said that it "brings regulatory uncertainty, legal uncertainty, and it's not the best decision." Afterwards, he added that even so, all possible efforts will be made to comply with it.
Amapá RTE
The decision in question was the conclusion of the extraordinary tariff review (RTE) of Equatorial Amapá, 104 days late, while Aneel was waiting for the government to issue a Provisional Measure (MP) promised in November 2023 to help transfer resources from the sector to reduce the increase in the state's tariff, which was calculated by the technical areas of the regulatory agency at around 35%.
Director Fernando Mosna presented a proposal to complete the RTE without applying any readjustment, a vote that was followed by directors Hélvio Guerra and Ricardo Tili, and thus approved by a majority of voters. According to Mosna, the delay in concluding the deliberation involved regulatory risk and, without the MP, he proposed that the difference between the tariff collected by the distributor and the one to which it would be entitled becomes part of a regulatory asset, which will be recognized in the future in favor of the concessionaire .
The general director, Sandoval Feitosa, voted to extend Equatorial Amapá's current tariff for 60 days, which was accompanied by director Agnes da Costa. "After the decision, I was approached by several company presidents and several investors concerned about the direction of the decision, but I believe and trust that the legislative decision will correct this regulatory asymmetry and what happened in the last decision," said Sandoval, referring to the publication of the MP, which the Ministry of Mines and Energy promised for the beginning of April.
Exit through the front door
As soon as Sandoval's statements began to be reproduced by the press, director Fernando Mosna took to Linkedin to say that he disagreed with the general director, and that the delay in RTE's deliberation was causing problems. The process was Mosna's report, but Sandoval requested a review in December and it was up to him to bring the matter back so it could be deliberated.
"Director Sandoval, friend Sandoval, I was very worried and, to be honest, a bit... I don't want to use that word, but that's what's coming to me: hurt. Because I've always defended the public interest, always I justified my votes", said Guerra.
Saying he was emotional, Hélvio Guerra said that after the vote, the decision was no longer made by the three directors and became a decision by Aneel, whose stability depends on this respect for collegiate decisions. "The general director represents the institution, it is not an option, it is an obligation to defend the decisions of the collegiate", he said.
"I didn't build my career at the agency so that when I leave I will tarnish this story. I will leave, director Sandoval, friend Sandoval, through Aneel's front door", he added.
Majority decision = agency decision
After statements by director Hélvio Guerra, Fernando Mosna took the floor to read the vote on another process, but took the opportunity to talk about the general director. "I confess, director Hélvio, that I imagined that director Sandoval was going to say something, but he didn't. I really like that expression that the body speaks, and the image of restlessness and discomfort with what was said said a lot", said Mosna.
Mosna said that Hélvio shouldn't apologize, as he doesn't owe anyone an apology. "The law on regulatory agencies says that the decision of the regulatory agencies is collegial, there is no decision by director A, director B, director C. From the moment the result is announced, the decision belongs to the regulatory agency", he said.
Ricardo Tili took the opportunity to express his respect and admiration for director Hélvio Guerra and further stated that not only was he disrespected, but "this house was disrespected".
"There is one point that caused me even more concern about regulatory insecurity and insecurity in the electricity sector, also about the public statement by the director general, when he said that several agents approached him to express this concern. We already have 26 years of existence and the agents didn't understand that the general director, in this house, doesn't decide anything alone? This is a collegial body, the majority counts, the democracy of the collegiate", said Tili.
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>> Aneel's decision on Amapá's tariff brings regulatory uncertainty, says general director