The Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL) formalizes on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at 3 p.m., the contracts from two power sector auctions: the Capacity Reserve Auction in the form of Power No. 2/2026 (LRCAP 2/2026) and the second stage of Transmission Auction No. 1/2026. The ceremony takes place in the Plenary Room at the agency's headquarters in Brasília and will be streamed on ANEEL's YouTube channel. The signing closes the results phase of these auctions and formally starts the winners' obligations.
What was contracted in LRCAP 2/2026
The LRCAP is the instrument used to contract power availability for the National Interconnected System (SIN). Unlike energy auctions, which pay for production over time, the capacity auction pays for the ability to deliver power when the system needs it, especially at times of peak demand or sudden drops in variable renewable generation.
LRCAP 2/2026 was held on March 18. According to ANEEL, the contracts traded include expansions of five hydropower plants, which together add 2.5 GW of power availability to the SIN. In its announcement, the agency does not detail the auction's other contracts, only indicating that there were others besides the hydropower plants.
Expanding existing plants is often a competitive option in power auctions because it takes advantage of structures, reservoirs and connections already in place, which reduces part of the deployment costs and risks.
Second stage of Transmission Auction 1/2026
In the transmission segment, the second stage of LT 1/2026 auctioned four new concession lots, with projects located in Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and São Paulo. The main figures released by ANEEL are:
- estimated investments of R$ 1.75 billion;
- average discount of 53.20% relative to the maximum allowed revenue;
- expected creation of more than 4,000 jobs.
A discount of this magnitude shows strong competition among bidders and indicates market appetite for transmission assets, even with revenues well below the ceiling set in the tender notice. For consumers, the effect is a lower annual revenue to be paid to the new projects over the concession term.
Why the signing matters
Signing the contracts is the step that turns the auction result into a legal commitment. From that point on, deployment deadlines, construction milestones and delivery obligations begin to run. In practice, it is the moment when the announced investments start turning into engineering projects, procurement and hiring of labor for the expansion of the SIN.
What changes in practice for the BESS market
For those working with battery energy storage systems (BESS), the main message lies in the LRCAP. The 2.5 GW of hydropower expansions fill a share of the power need that batteries could also compete for in capacity auctions. This does not eliminate room for storage, but it shows that competition in these auctions includes mature technologies with already amortized costs.
- Developers: should structure projects with a competitive cost per unit of power and leverage attributes where batteries stand out, such as fast response, location close to load and deployment flexibility.
- EPCs: price competition reinforces the importance of short construction timelines and accurate budgets, which help enable more aggressive bids.
- Manufacturers and suppliers: cost pressure in power auctions tends to be reflected in equipment negotiations, warranty and performance contracts.
On the transmission side, the new lots strengthen the SIN grid. For storage projects, grid expansion affects the availability of connection points and planning of where to install assets, a topic worth following with each new transmission auction in Brazil.
Original source: ANEEL — ANEEL realiza cerimônia para assinatura de contratos de geração e transmissão de energia