For 2026, Brazil’s federal power regulator has lined up two competitive tenders in auction format to grant long‑term concessions for public electricity transmission services. These “Transmission Auctions” are designed to allocate private capital and operating expertise to the construction, operation, and maintenance of new transmission lines and substations, with the explicit goal of expanding and reinforcing the Basic Grid of the National Interconnected System (SIN).
Auction No. 1/2026 (“LT01/2026”) is the first of these tenders.
Scope of LT01/2026
LT01/2026 will award concessions for public electricity transmission service associated with new facilities located across a broad geographic footprint. According to the Bid Notice (Edital), the lots include projects in up to 12 Brazilian states, including, among others:
- Bahia
- Ceará
- Mato Grosso
- Mato Grosso do Sul
- Minas Gerais
- Pará
- Paraná
- Rio de Janeiro
- Rio Grande do Norte
- Santa Catarina
- Sergipe
- São Paulo
In aggregate, the auction covers:
- 859 km of new transmission lines; and
- 4,350 MVA of new transformation capacity,
with estimated capital expenditures on the order of BRL 5.11 billion. The concessions will be granted for a 30‑year term.
The portfolio is organized into nine lots of installations and associated works. While the detailed technical configuration of each lot is set out in the Edital and its annexes, the package includes, for example, the 345 kV Norte–São Miguel lines (C1 and C2, 8.2 km each, underground) and São Miguel–Ramon Reberte Filho (C1 and C2, 9.2 km each, underground), plus the 345/88 kV São Miguel substation, with a 60 month delivery window to reinforce supply to the São Paulo Metropolitan Region.
Procedural framework and timeline
The Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica – ANEEL) has scheduled Auction LT01/2026 for March 27, 2026. The auction will be run at the headquarters of B3 S.A. – Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão, in São Paulo (SP), and will unfold in two public sessions:
- First public session:
Date and time: March 27, 2026, starting at 10:00 a.m. (local time)
Scope: lots 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 - Second public session:
Scope: lots 7, 8, 9, and 10
Date and time: to be subsequently announced in a “Relevant Notice” (Comunicado Relevante) to be issued by ANEEL’s Permanent Auction Committee (Comissão Permanente de Leilões – CPL)
One of the originally contemplated lots was withdrawn from the process prior to publication of the final Bid Notice, as it was not included in the underlying consensual termination instrument governing that asset. As a result, the published Edital consolidates the offering into nine lots.
Bid documentation and information access
Bidders and other interested stakeholders can access the full set of official materials directly through ANEEL’s website. The following documents are available electronically:
- the Bid Notice (Edital) governing Auction LT01/2026;
- all annexes to the Edital, including technical specifications, draft concession contracts, and qualification requirements; and
- the associated reference documents supporting the auction design.
These can be obtained at the following address: https://www2.aneel.gov.br/aplicacoes_liferay/editais_transmissao/edital_transmissao.cfm
Prospective participants are expected to rely on the Edital and its annexes as the binding legal and technical framework for preparing their bids, structuring their project and financing models, and assessing regulatory obligations over the 30‑year concession term.
Opportunities for market participants
LT01/2026 offers a significant pipeline of long‑duration regulated assets in the Brazilian transmission sector, with diversified geographic exposure and material investment requirements. For sponsors, investors, and lenders, the auction presents an opportunity to:
- expand or enter into Brazil’s regulated transmission segment;
- structure greenfield transmission investments backed by long‑term concessions; and
- deploy project‑finance and capital‑markets solutions tailored to the auction’s risk‑allocation model.
How we can help
The regulatory, contractual, and financial complexity inherent to projects of this magnitude demands specialized, fully integrated legal counsel across every stage of the project lifecycle, from pre-bidding strategy and due diligence through to the completion of the fundraising necessary for the project. With a well-established track record in the sector, COSRO is uniquely positioned to advise bidders, concessionaires, and lenders on the full spectrum of legal issues arising from this auction and from future transmission auctions. Our team brings together practitioners across infrastructure, project finance and energy regulatory, enabling us to deliver integrated, cohesive, and commercially grounded counsel through the entire process.
We welcome the opportunity to discuss how we can support your objectives. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our team for further information.
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