The company, a subsidiary of the Suez group, said it will invest in the construction of the 241MW Sao Salvador as it takes control of the project from SESA. Construction work started last year on the scheme, which should be commissioned by 2011 and give average assured power of 148MW.
In releasing its financial results for 2006, Tractebel Energia said it also planned to invest in improvements at the Salto Osorio plant as well as the expansion of the 1087MW Estreito plant, sited between the states of Tocantins and Maranhao.
Following licensing of the Estreito plant by IBAMA, Tracebel hopes this year to have ownership transferred from SESA and then begin construction works. The existing plant is controlled by a consortium of SESA (40.1%), Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (30%), Alcoa Alumino (25.5%), and Camargo Correa Energia (4.4%).
Tracetbel Energia has a total installed capacity in its hydro plants of 5764MW, and last year the stations generated 92% of the electricity output. The electricity generated was 15,885GWh from the company's hydro portfolio with average availability of 95%.
The country's national energy plan, set out in 2005 by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, calls for an additional 30GW of hydro capacity to be built.
