With a physical advance of 63.5% in December last year and a direct investment by Eletrobras of R $ 8.5 billion, Usina Nuclear Angra 3 will still demand investments of the order of R $ 18.5 billion to be concluded in November 2026 The forecast is to add 1,405 megawattts (MW) of energy to the national electrical system.

In a teleconference to present Eletrobras' 2020 results made today (22) to analysts and investors, the company's former president and current member of the Board of Directors, Wilson Ferreira Júnior, said that Angra 3 has the necessary regulatory context for the progress of the works.

Part of this is being made possible through the capitalization of Eletrobras, which will allow the participation of private partners, mentioned the former president. He says he expects that the international bidding to attract investors to conclude the works, launched in February this year, will be carried out at the end of the first half of this year.

Ferreira Júnior clarified that the resumption of works at the Angra 3 plant that have been paralyzed for many years, called the "critical path", was decided by the company last year, when it defined a value so that the critical path could reach 75% of the works . In 2020, Eletrobras disbursed R $ 1 billion in the project and, for 2021, the goal is to release R $ 2.5 billion.

Ferreira Júnior says he believes that Angra 3 will attract financing made up of national and foreign resources. Likewise, the director has no doubt that the work will be done in cooperation between Brazilian and international companies.

The bidding for the contracting of civil works and part of the electromechanical assembly is part of the Nuclear Plant's Critical Path Acceleration Plan. The hiring of specialized consultants to support the project's integrity area is being concluded.

Alternatives 

The National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) is conducting studies to present alternatives for Eletrobras and its subsidiaries Eletronuclear and Itaipu. Ferreira Júnior informed that the most obvious operation is that of a spin-off of Eletrobras. "You create an Eletrobras B company and put Eletronuclear and Itaipu down. The shareholders are the same. It is like a mirror company, in which Eletrobras B is on one side and Eletronuclear and Itaipu on the other. The same shareholders they own these two assets, with the participation they have today ", he explained. Ferreira Júnior recalled that today 38% of the capital of Eletronuclear and Itaipu are dispersed in the market. The two companies will have the same structure, leaving the government with 62%.

The simplest operation makes a valuation (evaluation of the value) of Eletronuclear from the perspective of Angra 3. As it is a company with 50% of common shares and 50% of preferred shares, the government only needs to acquire 51% of common shares to hold control. Eletrobras would keep the remaining amount, that is, all preferred shares and 49% of common shares. The same is true for Itaipu's share capital. "Back there, Eletrobras deposited US $ 50 million, an amount that is updated annually and gives mandatory remuneration to the Itaipu plant on a 12% per year basis. This asset, which is US $ 50 million, must be the object of of this transfer ", he highlighted.

In this simple operation, the government creates a public company that will hold the share capital that Eletrobras currently holds in Itaipu and control, represented by 51% of Eletronuclear's common shares. "These are the two possible operations that I see today," said the Eletrobras advisor.