Sul Transmissora de Energia (STE)

active

The transmission project comprises one 230 KV transmission line from Uruguaiana substation to Santa Rosa substation (Rio Grande do sul State). In total the line will connect four substations being approximately 389 KM long. The project comprises building and operating the line, and expanding four substations. The project is located in the west region of Rio Grande do Sul, extending from the southwest to the northwest and cutting the state from south to north. It will connect and expand four substations that already exist and are owned by other electric utility companies: Uruguaian (operated by AES Uruguaiana), Macaramba (CEEE), Santo Angelo (Eletrosul), and Santa Rosa (CEEE). The transmission line will pass through 13 municipal districts. The company responsible for the project, Sul Transmissora de Energia Ltda (STE), is a special purpose corporation created to build the Uruguaiana-Santa Rosa transmission line and to expand the four substations. In 2003, ANEEL, the Brazilian regulator for the electricity sector, authorized ASA Investment AG (a subsidiary of Abengoa) to transfer 49.8 percent of its shares to STE to Control y Montajes Industriales Cymi SA (a subsidiary of ACS Group (Actividades de Construccion y Servicios). The two companies share control of STE. ANEEL, the Brazilian independent regulatory agency for the electricity sector, offered through public bid the concession for the line in August, 2002. ASA Investment AG was the winner offering the lowest price for an annual revenue in exchange for the electricity transmission services: US$12.9 million (R$25.8). The contract between ANEEL and STE was signed in December 2002 and it will be valid until December 2032. According to the contract, the lines should start operating within 20 months of signature. The project reached financial closure in May 2004 when Brazil's National Development Bank, BNDES, approved a financial support worth US$52.5 million (R$146.1 million) to STE for the installation of the transmission line between Uruguaiana and Santa Rosa. the amount approved by the Bank represents 70 percent of the total investments.