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| Home Business
of AES Tietê |
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| Plants |
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As a power generator,
AES Tietê’s assets are its power plants and its operational
activity is
concentrated on assuring the perfect maintenance and operation
of this infrastructure.
The majority of AES Tietê’s plants – Barra Bonita,
Bariri, Ibitinga, Promissão and
Nova Avanhandava – are
located along a 1,100-kilometer stretch of the Tietê River,
which
cuts through the state of São Paulo. Together, these plants
represent 38.7% of
the Company’s 2,651 MW installed capacity.
The largest power plant is Água Vermelha, at Rio Grande and
the border of the states of
São Paulo and Minas Gerais. It has
installed capacity of 1,396 MW, which is equivalent to
more than 50%
of AES Tietê’s total power generation capacity. Moreover,
the Company has
three hydroelectric power plants on the Pardo River – Caconde,
Euclides da Cunha and Limoeiro
– and one small hydroelectric
plant (PCH) on the Mogi-Guaçu River (Mogi-Guaçu Plant).
The reservoirs of the plants, besides generating energy, make it possible
to control high water
conditions, provide irrigation, permit river
navigation and foster commercial activities
such as tourism, recreation
and sport / professional fishing. |
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| Maintenance |
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In order to meet
its targets, the Company has a long-term maintenance timetable that
takes
into consideration the useful life of the equipment and the
number of hours they are in use.
Complying with this program, during
2005 the Bariri power plant — which has 143 MW
production capacity
of and is the fourth largest in terms of generation capacity owned
by
AES Tietê – conducted maintenance to refurbish Generating
Unit No. 2. In 2006, the process
should be concluded with the refurbishing
of Generating Unit No. 3, which will require an
investment of R$
11 million.
Within the modernization program prepared for next year, an automated
system for the
Limoeiro plant is scheduled to be installed, which will
make it possible to dispatch and
operate the unit remotely. Limoeiro
has been chosen to be the first to adopt this system
because is not
a big plant. The Company plans to install the same system in other
plants in
the future as well.
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| Waterway |
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As part of the obligations
called for under the Privatization Public Notice, AES Tietê operates
and
maintains six river locks at the power plants located on the Tietê River,
as well as improving the
channels and canals that make up the Tietê-Paraná Waterway
system. This activity,
which is the subject of an agreement signed
with the government of the state of São Paulo,
does not generate
revenues for the Company. Nevertheless, river transportation
—
used
mainly for cargo — is essential for the social and economic development
of the state.
AES Tietê is part of the Tietê-Paraná Waterway,
contributing with six river locks that permit
vessels to pass over
dams as high as 30 meters and connect the Greater São Paulo
region to the
Itaipu Dam area on the Paraná River. In 2005,
the vessels that traveled through the river lock
s operated by AES Tietê transported
about 7 million tons of freight, mainly fuel, sugarcane,
soybeans,
soy meal and sand.
In 2006, AES Tietê will conclude all of the obligations foreseen
in its concession contract with
regard to the Tietê/Paraná Waterway,
according to the Privatization Public Notice.
This same year, work
will also be initiated for the reform and the maintenance of the
river
locks when R$ 2.6 million shall be invested. |
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| Regulatory Environment |
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In the electricity
sector, 2005 was notable for the application of new rules introduced
by
Law no. 10848, of March 15, 2004, known as the “Law of the
New Model.” The more visible
initiatives were the holding of
existing energy auctions and the first new energy auction,
occurred
in December.
AES Tietê has all of its assured energy contracted over the long
term. Thus, the rules of the
New Regulatory Mark announced by the Brazilian
Electric Energy Agency (Aneel)
in 2004 did not bring substantial changes
in terms of business management.
The Company has a bilateral supply
contract with AES Eletropaulo, which is in effect
until 2015 and will
respond for the equivalent of almost 100% of its assured energy as
of 2006.
In 2003, the two companies signed the Second Amendment to the Bilateral
Agreement,
which among other minor changes, postpones its maturity
date to June 2028,
when AES Eletropaulo’s concession period finishes.
In 2005, however, Aneel’s Economic and
Financial Inspection Superintendence
declared itself against the terms of the amendment.
AES Eletropaulo
appealed this decision. The final decision at the administrative level
will be made by the Board of Directors of the Agency — and on
a date yet to be established.
AES Tietê has systematically generated volumes above its assured
energy, established at
11,200 GWh. In 2005, the effective generation
surpassed this amount by 15%.
Despite the fact that the assured energy
volume for the whole system should be revised by 2004,
the Mines and
Energy Ministry decided to postpone such revision to 2014. |
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