CBEE3 Ampla Energia e Serviços

Ampla Energia e Serviços S.A., now commercially known as Enel Distribuição Rio, has a century-long trajectory 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 electricity 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., which expanded its operations by acquiring several utilities, mainly in the countryside of São Paulo, and interconnected its system with other power companies to increase service capacity.

Over the following decades, the business became integrated into the restructuring movement of the power sector in Rio de Janeiro. In 1963, the state created Centrais Elétricas Fluminense S.A. (CELF), which consolidated several regional distributors and, in 1967, went on to supply electricity to more than 60% of the territory 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). The privatization of CERJ took place in 1996, within the scope 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., maintaining continuity of the distribution concession in the state.

Starting in the 2000s, the company underwent an unbundling process, aligned with the new regulatory model of the power sector. In 2005 and 2006, Ampla carved out its indirect interest in Companhia Energética do Ceará (COELCE) and sold its generation assets, transferring the shares of Ampla Geração S.A. to another company, focusing exclusively on power distribution, as required by legislation 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 controlling shareholder. In 2016, after internal corporate reorganizations of the Enel group in Latin America, the trade name was changed to Enel Distribuição Rio, while preserving Ampla Energia e Serviços S.A. as the corporate name and keeping CBEE3 shares traded on B3.

Ampla/Enel Distribuição Rio’s business model is entirely focused on the distribution of electricity, under a public concession regime. The company is responsible for distributing electricity in 66 municipalities in the State of Rio de Janeiro, covering about 32.6 thousand km², which corresponds to approximately 75% of the state’s territory. In its concession area, it serves around 3.1 million consumer units, with an estimated population of 6.5 million inhabitants and an approximate density of 95 consumer units per square kilometer. Its infrastructure consists of about 59 thousand kilometers of distribution lines, 3.8 thousand kilometers of transmission lines and 132 substations, forming a predominantly overhead network that connects large high-voltage industrial customers to low-voltage residential customers.

From an economic and financial standpoint, the company operates through a single operating segment: supply and distribution of electricity to the captive market and billing for use of the distribution system by free consumers. In 2024, net operating revenue reached R$ 8.741 billion, a 12.1% increase over 2023, with 11,994 GWh distributed (including short-term energy). Consumption in 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 commercial, industrial and “other” segments complete the demand profile. The customer base is diversified, with no individual customers 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 in the national territory, with no operations or revenues abroad. Its electricity distribution concession agreement, executed 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, pursuant to sectoral legislation. In 2017, the company signed an addendum to the concession agreement, which set out a trajectory for improving service quality indicators, targets for reducing non-technical losses through 2019, and brought forward the 2019 tariff review to 2018, in order to strengthen the economic and financial sustainability of the concession. In 2025, the company filed with ANEEL a request for early application of the effects of the 30-year extension of the contract, in accordance with 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 activities to distribution, prohibiting the development of generation and transmission activities, the sale of energy to free consumers and participation in other companies, except where legally permitted. The company’s remuneration arises mainly from the supply of energy to the captive market and from tariffs for the use of the distribution system paid by free consumers and other concessionaires connected to its grid. Tariff regulation, energy procurement mechanisms (via regulated auctions, energy quotas, PROINFA, Itaipu and Angra 1 and 2) and rules on quality and energy losses define a large part of the company’s revenue, cost and investment dynamics, including the obligation to financially compensate consumers in the event of violation of individual service quality indicators.

In its relationship with customers, the company emphasizes investments in operational stability, safety and process digitalization. The company has been increasing the digitalization of products, services and routines related to metering, preventive maintenance and customer service, seeking greater operational efficiency. The virtual agency on its website allows residential and corporate consumers to access contract information, request reissuance of invoices, negotiate installment payments, report service outages, change account holders and consult schedules of planned shutdowns. The concession area has relevant seasonality, with higher consumption between December and March, during the summer and vacation period, and heavy tourist flows in regions such as Lagos and Costa Verde, which directly impact residential and commercial energy demand.

In recent years, Ampla/Enel Distribuição Rio has also stood out for capital strengthening moves and the need to address 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 winds exceeding 100 km/h severely affected the concession area, toppling more than a thousand large trees and extensively damaging the 62 thousand kilometers of overhead network in 66 municipalities, impacting 1.2 million customers. The company activated its contingency plan, tripling field teams and mobilizing teams from other states and specialized third parties to rebuild the grid. In the first 24 hours, service was restored for 86% of the customer base, with priority given to hospitals, water and sewage facilities and critical-care customers, and reached 95% in 48 hours, leaving only the most complex cases that required infrastructure reconstruction.

For individual investors following CBEE3 shares on B3, Ampla Energia e Serviços S.A. presents itself as an electricity distribution concessionaire with a relevant 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, weather events and decisions concerning concession renewal. Economic and financial performance, investments in grid and technology, relations with the granting authority and the regulatory environment are central elements for understanding the company’s risk-return profile within the Brazilian utilities sector.