The Enel Group is consolidating its global leadership in electric power distribution, becoming one of the largest grid operators in the world, reaching about 65 million end users.
This goal has been achieved through the acquisition in Brazil of CELG Distribuição S.A. (CELG), public operator in the State of Goiás, in the Center-West part of the country, privatised at the end of 2016.
The transfer to Enel Brasil of 94.8% of CELG, to date a subsidiary of the Brazilian State electricity utility Eletrobras, was formalised on 14 February 2017, during a ceremony held at Palazzo Pedro Ludovico in Goiânia. The deal was signed by the Governor of Goiás, Marconi Perillo, the Enel Country Manager in Brazil, Carlo Zorzoli and by the Director of Global Infrastructure and Networks, Livio Gallo.
In December, Enel won the public tender for the sale of the company for a total of 2,187 billion Brazilian reales (about USD 640 million).
The acquisition is a great opportunity for the development and growth of both our Group and Goiás, as emphasized in a note by Enel CEO Francesco Starace and by the Head of Global Infrastructure and Networks when signing the deal.
As part of the transaction, Enel has planned investments to modernise and expand the distribution system operated by CELG, bringing the most advanced grid automation technologies to Brazil integrating the concept of smart grids to improve the quality of services. It is a project geared to ensure business sustainability and customer satisfaction in the long term. The objective is to foster the growth of a particularly thriving area, as confirmed by the fact that in 2015, the year in which Brazil registered a drop in electricity demand, this region recorded a positive trend of 2.5% over 2014 and CELG increased the number of customers by more than 85,300 units.
Founded in 1956, CELG operates in 237 municipalities of the State of Goiás and serves approximately 2.9 million customers through a grid of over 200,800 kilometres. The electrical services offered are addressed to residential, industrial, rural, and commercial users and to local administrations.
The acquisition of CELG is therefore a new opportunity for the growth of our Group in Brazil, where we are present in electricity generation from thermal and renewable energy sources and in distribution through Enel Brasil and its subsidiaries. In this context, the companies Enel Distribuição Rio (ex Ampla) and Enel Distribuição Cearà (ex Coelce) serve a total of about 7 million customers, in the States of Rio de Janeiro and Ceara respectively.
With its entry into the market of the State of Goiás, Enel Brasil is now the second largest grid operator in the country, with approximately 10 million customers, and Brazil is our Group’s third largest market in terms of number of end users, after Italy and Spain.