THE FINANCIAL CRISIS AND BRAZIL'S ELECTRICITY SECTOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SAO PAULO 000204 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE PASS USTR FOR KDUCKWORTH STATE PASS EXIMBANK STATE PASS OPIC FOR DMORONSE, NRIVERA, CMERVENNE STATE PASS NSC FOR ROSSELLO DEPT OF TREASURY FOR LINDQUIST DOE FOR CGAY, RDAVIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ENRG EFIN EINV BR SUBJECT: THE FINANCIAL CRISIS AND BRAZIL'S ELECTRICITY SECTOR REF: A. 08 Sao Paulo 260; B. 08 Sao Paulo 392; C. Sao Paulo 92 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED--PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Brazil's electricity demand generally follows economic growth and recent data confirms a big dip in consumption, particularly from the industrial sector. The electricity sector itself should suffer minimal impacts as most companies are well-capitalized and were financially sound leading up to the crisis. Tighter financing is likely to lead to fewer new projects; and those will be much less leveraged than before. The crisis has opened a window of opportunity for long-term planning, but given the financial strength of the sector, the GOB is unlikely to undertake any strategic planning, and instead focus on other sectors to boost economic growth. End Summary. Electricity Demand Measure of Economic Activity -------------- -- ¶2. (SBU) After starting last year with concerns of an energy shortage (Ref A),Brazil closed out 2008 with electricity to spare. Generally speaking, Brazil's electricity demand has tracked with economic growth, increasing at nearly the same margins. In 2008, however, economic growth outpaced that of electricity consumption, 5.1 percent versus 3.8 percent, respectively. Primarily due to the impacts of the financial crisis on the industrial sector, electricity consumption in the last quarter of 2008 declined by 1.4 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2007. Statistics from the government-owned Energy Research Company (EPE) show that in December alone electricity consumption declined by 1.8 percent over December ¶2007. This marked the first decline in electricity consumption in Brazil since the GOB implemented an electricity rationing program in ¶2001. ¶3. (SBU) In a recent conference on the electricity sector and the financial crisis hosted by the Sao Paulo Association of Cogeneration of Energy (COGEN-SP),Professor Nivalde Jose de Castro from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro's (UFRJ) Electricity Sector Research Group (GESEL) explained that the financial crisis has hit energy intensive industrial sectors harder than other sector. The spot price for electricity reflected the ecline in the demand - rices fell from R$ 190 per megawatt/hour (MW/h) inOctober to R$ 120MW/h overnight. The most pronounced example of the impac of the financial crisis on electricity demand ws the 14.9 percent decline in electricity demand for Brazil's industrial sctor in January of this year compared to January 2008. This decline is in line with the 17.2 percent drop in industrial production observed during the same month. According to Marcelo Parodi, President of energy trading company COMERC, 45 percent of Brazil's electricity demand is from industrial consumers (about 25,000 MW). Parodi told Econoff he estimates electricity consumption growth would be flat or slightly negative, in line with current consensus for Brazilian economic growth at 0.01 percent this year. Impacts on the Sector -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Roberto Brandao from UFRJ underlined the impact of the financial crisis on companies in the electricity sector: less available credit, banks had limited companies' ability to extend loan maturities, increased banking spreads, and delays in IPOs and stock offerings. As a result, he expected fewer new electricity projects, and noted that highly leveraged companies would have a clear disadvantage because developers would need to put more equity into projects. He also anticipated fewer business opportunities for generators. As with other sectors facing the financial crisis, Brandao expects to see an increase in mergers and acquisitions. The Numbers Do Not Explain the Whole Picture -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Following on the declines in electricity consumption at the end of 2008, early estimates for the first quarter of 2009 which show increased electricity consumption when compared to those of SAO PAULO 00000204 002 OF 003 2008 are somewhat surprising at first glance. For example, February and March showed 1.1 and two percent increases, respectively, although electricity demand in January was down 2.6 percent over ¶2008. However, several factors make it difficult to draw any conclusions based on a comparison of electrical demand between the first quarters of 2008 and 2009. Fausto Pinheiro Mendezes, from the National Electricity System Operator (ONS) Office of Forecasting and Demand, cautioned that many other factors influenced electricity demand in the first quarter of 2008. By and large, the first months in 2009 have been warmer than the same months in 2008, requiring more electricity to cool residences. The spot price for electricity reached record highs at the start of 2008 because of a drought (Ref A),driving down demand in some industries sensitive to price. Mendezes noted that demand in 2008 was also mitigated by an increase in cogeneration across the manufacturing sector over previous years. He also pointed to the Brazilian Customs strike in March 2008, which slowed production and electricity consumption. Finally, because of the greater reliance on gas-fired generators, especially in the first part of 2008, Brazil had lower technical losses in the transmission grid because the gas-fired generators are closer to industrial consumers. Brazil's Electricity Model to Withstand Crisis -------------- - ¶6. (SBU) According to Castro, Brazil's electricity business model will withstand the global financial crisis. Castro explained that most of the large distributors and generators went into the crisis with a good financial position due to several profitable years following the blackouts and rationing in 2001. Fifty of the companies that UFRJ reviewed in a recent report had an average growth in profits of 57 percent in 2007. Similarly, Professor Roberto Brandao from UFRJ noted that prior to the crisis, the sector had access to long-term structured financing in local currency through Brazil's National Development Bank (BNDES),minimal demand for external financing, and access to bridge loans from commercial banks. Despite the fact that BNDES previously delayed and decreased opportunities for bridge loans and some projects had suffered funding problems, Brandao noted that financing for new projects has been adjusted to resolve these issues. ¶7. (SBU) In addition, Castro touted the structure of the electricity sector as an instrument against the crisis. Castro stated that the solid regulatory framework protects distributors because the GOB guarantees payment. As a result of the financial crisis, he identified industrial consumers as those with the greatest risks of non-payment (particularly in the state of Espiritu Santo) and residential and commercial consumers as those with the lowest risks (mostly located in the SE/South and N/NE),though losses to the distributors would be minimal due to government guarantees. Duke Energy, one of the two U.S. companies operating in the electricity sector in Sao Paulo, told Econoff that despite the decrease in energy consumption in the first quarter of 2009 versus the forecasted demand, none of their clients requested a reduction in volume or termination of any existing energy supply contracts. In general, vertical holding companies are active in generation, distribution, and commercialization. According to Castro, the system of electricity auctions facilitates expansion of electricity generation, supply and demand readjustments, and incorporates long-term inflation indexed contracts. In response to the crisis, large energy consumers that were part of the free market sold off 1,400 MW of excess electricity to distributors on the regulated market in an electricity auction in February. Over the Long-Term: Plan and Invest -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Growth in electricity demand will likely see more increases when industrial production recovers. Over the long-term, the EPE estimates that Brazil will need to invest another R$ 181 billion (R$ 142 billion in generation and R$ 39 billion in transmission, approximately USD 65 billion and 17.7 billion, respectively) to meet their demand projections from 2008 through ¶2017. UFRJ's Castro stressed that Brazil lost an opportunity for SAO PAULO 00000204 003 OF 003 strategic long-term planning and investment following the 2001 electricity rationing. In his view, the current financial crisis opened another window of opportunity to think strategically about electricity supply. In October 2008, demand for electricity averaged 54,088 MW, compared with 49,991 MW in January 2009. This matches the consumption levels of September 2007. According to Castro, Brazil's electricity consumption will continue to decline and it could be another three to four years before consumption returns to October 2008 levels. ¶9. (SBU) On a more positive note, Brandao expects that the GOB will consider more dedicated opportunities for alternative energy projects because there is less pressure to meet electricity demand. Alternative energy projects still face regulatory and financial hurdles, and would require incentives to compete with natural gas and fuel oil projects because of the lower costs involved. Laine Powell of Duke Energy Brazil told Econoff that the lack of available credit is affecting the development of alternative energy projects such as biomass and wind power. However, the GOB has in place initiatives for these types of projects, which should in time offset the lack of available credit through other sources. Comment -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Although there is a clear link between economic activity and electricity consumption, comparing consumption data to last year to evaluate a potential economic recovery is unlikely to provide an accurate picture. Financially, the structure of the sector is solid and should have no problem withstanding the current global financial crisis. However, the crisis in the short-term has impacted development of some alternative energy projects in Brazil; many of Brazil's sugar mills are facing financial difficulty due to the lack of credit and have delayed expansion plans for electricity generation capacity (see Refs B and C for more on bioelectricity). The fact that, until recently, the sector's capacity to meet demand was stretched to the limit is alleviated by lower demand as a result of the financial crisis; however, under normal conditions Brazil would not be generating enough electricity to meet demand. Unfortunately, the GOB may be preoccupied with combating the crisis and facing budget shortfalls due to the economic slowdown in Brazil, and could miss another opportunity to address capacity deficiencies through long-term planning in the electricity sector. End Comment. ¶11. (U) This cable was coordinated/cleared by Embassy Brasilia and Consulate Rio de Janeiro. WHITE