Minister says intervention in Light is “open possibility”

The Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, said that the possibility of a federal intervention in Light, a company for the generation, distribution and commercialization of electric energy that supplies 31 cities in Rio de Janeiro and that, last Friday ( 12), submitted a request for judicial recovery to the 3rd Corporate Court of the District of the Capital of the Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro (TJRJ).

“All possibilities are open”, replied Silveira when asked, this Tuesday (16), about the possibility of an intervention in Light, which informs that it has a debt of around R$ 11 billion. If the 3rd Corporate Court accepts the request for judicial recovery made by the company, any debt executions are paralyzed and the company gains a deadline to prepare a proposal that includes forms of payment to creditors and an administrative reorganization, to prevent the situation from getting worse and reach a bankruptcy scenario.

Even in the midst of financial difficulties, Light is trying to convince the government to bring forward the renewal of the concession so that the company can continue to distribute energy to millions of consumers in the 31 cities in Rio de Janeiro where it currently operates.

A service concession to Light ends in June 2026, but Brazilian legislation allows companies to express their interest in renewing the contract. The deadline for Light to submit the renewal request ends on June 4 of this year. It will be up to the federal government to authorize the extension or decide to rebid the concession.

Questioned, Silveira did not comment on the request, limiting himself to saying that the federal government has been “having internal discussions” regarding the company’s situation.