CBEE3

Ampla Energia e Serviços S.A., now commercially known as Enel Distribuição Rio, has a century-long track record in the Brazilian power sector. Its origins date back to 1908 with the inauguration of the Piabanha hydropower plant in Entrerios (now Três Rios), when Cândido Gaffrée and Eduardo Palassin Guinle created Guinle e Companhia, which quickly became the main power supplier in the State of Rio de Janeiro, serving cities such as Niterói, São Gonçalo, and Petrópolis. In 1909, the company came under the control of the newly founded Companhia Brasileira de Energia Elétrica (CBEE), which was later acquired in 1927 by American and Foreign Power Company Inc. This new controller expanded its operations by acquiring several utilities, mainly in the interior of São Paulo, and interconnected its system with other power companies to increase its service capacity.

Over the following decades, the business was gradually integrated into the broader reorganization of the power sector in Rio de Janeiro. In 1963, the state created Centrais Elétricas Fluminense S.A. (CELF), which consolidated various regional distributors and, by 1967, was supplying power to more than 60% of the state of Rio de Janeiro. In 1977, CELF was acquired by CBEE, which became a state-owned company, and in 1980 the company was renamed Companhia de Eletricidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (CERJ). CERJ was privatized in 1996, as part of the National Privatization Program, through a public auction won by an international consortium formed by Grupo Endesa, Chilectra, Enersis, and EDP Brasil. In 2005, the corporate name was changed to Ampla Energia e Serviços S.A., while maintaining continuity of the distribution concession in the state.

Starting in the 2000s, the company underwent an unbundling process in line with the new regulatory model of the power sector. In 2005 and 2006, Ampla separated its indirect stake in Companhia Energética do Ceará (COELCE) and sold its generation assets, transferring the shares of Ampla Geração S.A. to another company and focusing exclusively on power distribution, as required by law and by the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL). In 2009, the Enel group increased its control over the Endesa group, becoming the company’s indirect controller. In 2016, after internal corporate reorganizations within the Enel group in Latin America, the trade name was changed to Enel Distribuição Rio, while Ampla Energia e Serviços S.A. was preserved as the legal corporate name and CBEE3 shares continued to trade on B3.

Ampla/Enel Distribuição Rio’s business model is entirely focused on power distribution, under a public concession regime. The company is responsible for distributing electricity in 66 municipalities in the State of Rio de Janeiro, covering about 32,600 km², which corresponds to approximately 75% of the state’s territory. Within its concession area, it serves around 3.1 million consumer units, with an estimated population of 6.5 million inhabitants and a density of roughly 95 consumer units per square kilometer. Its infrastructure consists of around 59,000 kilometers of distribution lines, 3,800 kilometers of transmission lines, and 132 substations, forming a predominantly overhead network that connects large high-voltage industrial consumers to low-voltage residential customers.

From an economic and financial standpoint, the company operates with a single operating segment: the supply and distribution of electricity to the captive market and billing for the use of the distribution system by free consumers. In 2024, net operating revenue reached R$ 8.741 billion, up 12.1% compared to 2023, with 11,994 GWh distributed (including short-term energy). Consumption within the concession area is concentrated mainly in the residential segment, which totaled 5,191 GWh in 2024, followed by free consumers with 3,703 GWh, while the commercial, industrial, and “other” segments complete the demand profile. The customer base is diversified, with no single customer accounting for more than 10% of net revenue, and net income in 2024 was R$ 670.2 million.

Ampla Energia e Serviços’ operations are fully concentrated within Brazil, with no operations or revenue abroad. Its power distribution concession contract, signed with the Federal Government in 1996 through ANEEL and the Ministry of Mines and Energy, is valid until December 9, 2026, with the possibility of a 30-year extension under sector regulations. In 2017, the company signed an addendum to the concession contract that established a path for improving service quality indicators, set targets for reducing non-technical losses through 2019, and brought forward the 2019 tariff review to 2018, in order to strengthen the concession’s economic and financial sustainability. In 2025, the company filed a request with ANEEL to bring forward the effects of the 30-year extension of the contract, pursuant to Decree No. 12,068/2024.

The company’s activities are heavily regulated. As a distributor that is part of the National Interconnected System, it is subject to rules that restrict its operations to distribution, prohibiting it from engaging in generation and transmission activities, selling energy to free consumers, and taking stakes in other companies outside the legal exceptions. The company’s remuneration comes mainly from the supply of energy to the captive market and from distribution system use tariffs paid by free consumers and other utilities connected to its grid. Tariff regulation, mechanisms for energy procurement (via regulated auctions, energy quotas, PROINFA, Itaipu, and Angra 1 and 2), and rules on quality and energy losses largely determine the company’s revenue, cost, and investment dynamics, including the obligation to financially compensate consumers if individual service quality indicators are breached.

In its relationship with customers, the company emphasizes investments in operational stability, safety, and process digitalization. It has been expanding the digitalization of products, services, and routines related to metering, preventive maintenance, and customer service, seeking greater operating efficiency. The virtual branch on its website allows residential and corporate customers to access contract information, request reissuance of bills, negotiate payment plans, report service outages, change account holders, and check schedules for planned shutdowns. The concession area is subject to significant seasonality, with higher consumption between December and March, during the summer and vacation period, and strong tourist flows in regions such as Lagos and Costa Verde, which directly impact residential and commercial power demand.

In recent years, Ampla/Enel Distribuição Rio has also stood out for capital reinforcement measures and the need to tackle extreme weather events. Between 2022 and 2024, several capital increases were approved, totaling billions of reais in new issuances of common shares CBEE3, with preemptive rights granted to shareholders, aimed at strengthening the capital structure. In November 2023, an unusual weather event with wind speeds above 100 km/h severely affected the concession area, toppling more than one thousand large trees and causing extensive damage to the 62,000-kilometer overhead network across 66 municipalities, impacting 1.2 million customers. The company activated its contingency plan, tripling field crews and mobilizing teams from other states and specialized third parties to rebuild the network. Within the first 24 hours, service was restored to 86% of the customer base, with priority given to hospitals, water and sewage plants, and critical-load customers, and reached 95% in 48 hours, with the remaining, more complex cases requiring infrastructure reconstruction.

For retail investors following CBEE3 shares on B3, Ampla Energia e Serviços S.A. presents itself as a power distribution utility with a significant concession area in the State of Rio de Janeiro, fully regulated operations, exclusive focus on distribution, and exposure to factors such as tariff regulation, service quality, energy losses, extreme weather events, and decisions on concession renewal. The company’s economic and financial performance, investments in grid and technology, relationships with the granting authority, and the regulatory environment are key elements for understanding its risk-return profile within the Brazilian utilities sector.