ENGIE Secures Two 30-Year Electricity Transmission Concessions in Brazil

ENGIE won two lots at the auction organized by ANEEL (Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica, Brazil's electricity sector regulatory authority) on March 27. The French group secured 30-year concessions for the construction, operation, and maintenance of 143 kilometers of electricity transmission lines and five synchronous compensators. These projects aim to reinforce a power grid under growing pressure from renewable energy expansion, in a global context where large markets are scaling up clean energy ambitions — as with India targeting 500 GW of non-fossil electricity capacity by 2030. The selected bids indicated a final authorized annual revenue of 122.7 million R$ (approximately $21 million), with regulated revenues indexed to inflation.

Projects Spanning Two Distinct Regions of the Country

The transmission lines will connect the states of Paraná and Santa Catarina in southern Brazil. The five synchronous compensators will be deployed in the states of Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte in the northeast. ENGIE states that these projects are located near its existing transmission lines and operational renewable assets. They complement an installed renewable generation capacity of 16.5 GW in Brazil, including hydroelectric, onshore wind and solar assets. The growing integration of renewables into power grids requires regulatory adaptation, as illustrated by France's CRE proposing to adapt support schemes for large photovoltaic installations with storage.

The Role of Synchronous Compensators in Grid Stability

Synchronous compensators represent a new addition to ENGIE's infrastructure portfolio. These devices generate reactive power, a technical parameter essential to maintaining voltage stability on the electricity grid. According to the group, they will help avoid generation curtailments and support the integration of intermittent renewable sources into Brazil's power system.

ENGIE already operates 3,200 kilometers of transmission lines and 22 substations in Brazil. Across South America — including Chile and Peru — the group operates 6,000 kilometers of lines and 56 substations. An additional 1,600 kilometers of lines and 14 new electrical substations are currently under construction in the region.

A Target of 10,000 Kilometers of Transmission Assets by 2030

"By developing electricity transmission infrastructure in Brazil through state-of-the-art synchronous compensators and new transmission lines, ENGIE is strengthening the country's energy security and accelerating the integration of renewable energy," said Cécile Prévieu, ENGIE's Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Infrastructure activities. She noted these contracts "mark an important step toward our goal of operating 10,000 kilometers of transmission assets by 2030" and underlined the group's commitment to developing regulated electricity grids within its portfolio.

ENGIE posted revenue of €71.9 billion in 2025. Listed in Paris and Brussels (ENGI) and operating in 30 countries with more than 90,000 employees, the group covers the entire energy value chain from production to sales. ENGIE invests an average of €12 billion per year in the energy transition and targets net-zero carbon by 2045.