Tucurui-Vila do Conde Transmission Line

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The transmission project comprises building, operating and managing a 500Kv transmission line connecting the Tucurui hydroelectric plant to the substation Vila do Conde, in the state of Para. The total length of the line is 323 Km. ANEEL, the Brazilian independent regulatory agency for the electricity sector, offered through public bid the concession for the lines in January, 2000. The company responsible for the project, Empresa Parana de Transmissão de Energia S.A (ETEP), is held by a consortium of Alusa and Schahin. The contract between ANEEL and ETEP was signed in June 2001 and it is valid for thirty years. According to the contract, the lines should start operating within 14 months after the signature. By 2006, the project ownership was Alusa 33.1%, federal power holding company Eletrobrás 33.8%, Cemig 16.9% and Brascan 16.9%. The project reached financial closure in January 2002, when Brazil’s development Bank approved a financing of US$36.11 million (R$ 105,46 million) for the project. The line started operations in September 2002. The project was expected to increase the interconnection between the Tucurui hydroelectric power plant and the state of Para. From 1981 until recently, there was one transmission line connecting the plant with the distribution system of the State of Para (Tucurui-Vila do Conde). This is the second line between these substations. For this reason it is referred to as Tucurui-Vila do Conde “second circuit”. It is expected to increase the capacity and reliability of the system. The line is expected to be specially useful when the expansion of capacity of the Tucurui power plant (which is supposed to go from 4,245MW to 8,370MW) is concluded. In 2009, Cemig and Alusa increased their participations in Etep. The company ownership structure was then split between Alusa (39%) and state-owned companies Eletrobras (23%) and Cemig (37%).