Expansion of the North-South Interconnection

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The project comprises building and operating two 500Kv transmission lines that transport energy from Samambaia substation in the Federal District to Emborcacao and Itumbiara substations, in the border of the states of Goias and Minas Gerais. Samambaia-Emborcacao line has 285Km and the Samambaia-Itumbiara line has 296 Km. The company responsible for the project, Expansion, is a consortium composed by four private Spanish groups (Elecnor, Isolux and Abengoa and Cobra Group). ANEEL, the Brazilian independent regulatory agency for the electricity sector, offered through public bid the concession for the lines in 2000. The contract between ANEEL and Expansion was signed in December 2000 and it will be valid until December 2030. According to the contract, the lines should start operating within 28 months of signature. Expansion finished the construction before the deadline and was granted a early completion bonus of US$2.93 million (R$8.5 million) by ANEEL. The lines started operating in December 2002. The total project investment was US$191.2 (R$350 million), of which US$78.7 million (R$230million) was provided by Brazil’s National development Bank, BNDES and the remaining 30% were provided by the four sponsors. The BNDES loan should be paid in 12 years. The project comprising lines from Samambaia substation to Emborcacao and Itumbiara is considered an expansion of North-South interconnection line (Eletrobras), which integrated the two electric systems in the country, previously isolated from each other. The project was expected to add 600 MW of transmission capacity to the interconnected system. This link will become even more important when the North South interconnection II (Novatrans), a parallel line to the first north-south interconnection, is built. The interconnected system is expected have a reliable structure to transport to and from most Brazilian states 98% of the total energy produced in the country, reducing the risks of power shortages and increasing the efficiency of the system. In March 2010, the shareholding structure was modified when a Chinese state – owned company, SGID, acquired the shares of Isolux, Cobra and Elecnor, which represented 75% of the shares.