Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL)

active

Companhia Paranaense de Energia (Copel) was an integrated electricity company which generated and distributed electricity in the Southern Brazilian state of Parana. Copel had an installed capacity of 3,340-MW in 1995. Most of its capacity was formed by hydroelectric power plants (3,339-MW) and the remaining capacity by thermal power plants (21-MW). The main hydro power plants of Copel were Foz do Areia (1,676-MW), Segredo (1,260-MW), Capivari-Cachoeira (252-MW) and Julio de Mesquita (50-MW). Its transmission system consisted of 6.4km of 500-kV cables; 1,276km of 230-kV cables; 3,539km of 138-kV cables and 1,328km of 69-kV cables. Copel had 2.47 million customers in 1996. The company was partially privatized in a number of transactions. In November 1994, Brazil’s development Bank auctioned a minority stake in Copel and other 12 companies, raising a total of US$101 million (R$91.1 million reais). In September 1996, 3.5 percent of Copel’s total capital (5.8 percent of the firm’s voting shares) were sold. In January 1997, Parana state government sold its 8.27% preferred shares in the company for US$89.6 million in an auction on the Rio de Janeiro stock exchange. In July 1997, the state government issued new shares equivalent to 10% of Copel’s equity and sold them for US$500 million in an international public offer. In June 1999, the BNDESpas, an investment wing of BNDES, auctioned 16.3 billion preferred shares of Copel, raising US$137 million (R$248 million). As a result of these transactions, the states of Parana government’s stake in Copel fell from 60% to 45% of the total shares in 1997. In 1999, the stake was reduced to 31.1% of the total shares, including the controlling stock (59% of ordinary or voting shares). as of December 2003, this percentage remained unchanged. In addition, an investment wing of the Brazilian Development Bank, BNDESPar, was controling 24.3% of the total shares of the company (26,4% of the ordinary shares and 22% of preferred shares). In 2001, COPEL restructured its utility operations into separated generation, transmission, and distribution subsidiaries to prepare for full privatization. As a consequence, at the end of 2003 COPEL comprised five wholly-owned subsidiaries divided into generation, transmission, distribution, telecommunications, and investments. All COPEL concessions contracts were transferred to these subsidiaries. In June 2001, a consortium comprising Copel won the bid to build and operate a hydroelectric plant in Sao Jeronimo, Parana. The consortium comprised Tibaji (30%) and SJ investidores (49%) and COPEL (21%). It was expected to invest US$166.8 million (R$392 million) in the project. In 2001, COPEL presented the only bid and was awarded a concession contract to build a 82KM transmission line from Bateias to Jaguariaiva (Brazil), in which it would invest US$12.7 million (R$30 million). In 2003, ANEEL, the Brazilian regulator for the electricity sector, authorized COPEL to build a second circuit on the 230KV, 20KM Londrina-Ibipora transmission line in Parana State. Operations were expected to start in November 2004. In 2003, COPEL increased its equity in Centrais Elétricas do Rio Jordão S.A. (Elejor), the special purpose company created to build and operate the Santa Clara and Fundão power plants. The Company bought 30% of Elejor’s common shares from Triunfo Participacoes e Investimentos. COPEL will hold a controlling interest of 70% in Elejor. The value of the acquisition is estimated at US$12.4 (R$ 37.2 million). In November 2003, COPEL sold its stake (16.73%) in Campos Novos Energia S.A. (ENERCAN), a special purpose corporation created to build and operate the Campos Novos power plant (880 MW) and its transmission system. Copel received US$5.9 million (R$ 17.7 million) in November 2003 and US$24.5 million (R$73.6 million) in February 2004. As of December 31, 2007, COPEL was 44.1% publically traded. The rest of the shares were owned by state owned and federally owned companies. US$560 million of Commit. Inv. in Facilities in 1997 is not reported since during that year the project was only 18% Private. As of 2009, still less than 50% of the shares are held by private investors, when the company invested a total of US$ 327.6 million (BRL 655.2 million) in its distribution assets and US$ 29.4 million (BRL 58.8 million) in its transmission and generation assets. From 1998 to 2000 the company invested in its facilities, investing US$ 632 million (R$ 763.2 million) in 1998, US$ 351.2 million (R$ 635 million) in 1999 and US$ 205.2 million (R$ 400 million) in 2000. In 2001 the company resumed its investments, which totalized US$ 218.6 milion (R$ 445 million) and reached the mark of 2,937,575 consumers units. The total electricity consumption in 2001 was 18,037,694 MWh. In 2002 the total electricity consumption raised to 18,551,430 MWh and the number of consumers units increased to 3,011,387. The investments undertaken by Copel in 2002 amounted US$ 136.6 million (R$ 399.5 million). In 2003, Copel invested US$ 109 million.