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Good morning, everybody, ladies and gentlemen. I am Michele Chifino, the Communication Management for ENGIE Brasil Energia, and it is an honor to be with you for the 16th Inside ENGIE, still in the virtual format, but with renewed hope that in 2022 we can do this face to face. To look back a bit on the year 2021, I would like to invite the CEO and CFO, Eduardo Sattamini. A good day to all of you, and it is wonderful to be here with you. As in every year, we have this opportunity of reinforcing the proximity we have with 250,000 shareholders and potential investors. Our goal is to guarantee that this event will approach highly relevant issues for the sector and for the company in ENGIE Brasil Energia.
As many of you have followed up on us, it is important to remind you that even during the transformation journey in the company that was intensified five years ago, we were acknowledged in the market for our financial solidity, sustainable actions, and operational experience. This scenario continues to change very rapidly. Our role is to ensure that we are one step ahead in the electrical sector and that we can grow for all stakeholders. For this, we have a controller, the ENGIE Group, that has its focus of growth in Brazil. This is a foundation that enables us to have great ambitions and always be ready for the future. In 2021, we contributed directly to the global strategy of the group. We were able to expand our renewable generation portfolio, and we have also become an energy transmitter, decarbonizing our assets.
We have consolidated our position as a platform of investments in energy, and this diversification of business enables us to maintain balanced results even in very challenging contexts like the pandemic and the water crisis, making our business less prone to volatility, both macroeconomic and structural. Now, this robustness makes us able to guarantee the availability of our assets. We can comply with our investments and maintain our appetite for growth even in this scenario. I hope to have the chance to go more in depth in the details of these topics during this meeting today. Now, to make this conversation ever more effective and dynamic, we have divided these topics in blocks. At the end of each block, we will have a very quick debate, and the questions will be based on a perception survey carried out by the IR sector to approach the more relevant and recurrent topics.
In the fifth and last block, we will have a round table with the main officers to respond to the doubts that have been sent through the platform. Let us go to the agenda. In the first block, why do we need to continue to speak about ESG finances and the importance of looking at the whole? Second block, regulatory environment, water crisis, efficient and resilient operations, commercial partnerships for the long term. Third block, implementation of projects, new businesses, and the vision of the future. In the fourth block, we will speak about tech. In the fifth block, the round table for questions and answers. Let us therefore begin the first block with ESG that has predominated in the market agenda for the last two years. Yes, that's true, Michele. When we speak about ESG, we have to highlight that this is not a novel agenda.
It has been a journey in ENGIE Brasil Energia that was engaged in this since it began operations in Brazil to preserve the environment and guarantee a positive integration in the communities around us, our aspects that represent our credential to operate. Because of wind and solar energy, we are present in highly remote areas that have great social vulnerability, and this makes our role ever more relevant so that they can grow, develop, and prosper. That is why this agenda is an inherent part of our business. To speak more about our achievements in the environment and social responsibility in 2021, we will see the video of Luciana Nabarrete.
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In this context, it is also essential to underscore the role of governance when rendering accounts to society. When it comes to the confidence of our investors, the transparency and clarity of our facts and data are part of our financial discipline. You will be able to observe this when reading our statements. To go more in depth in this issue, we will see the video of our CFO, Marcelo Malta.
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Professor Malta and Luciana on stage, along with Sattamini, it is the time for us to debate those topics more profoundly. ESG and finance, as they relate to our pillars. Let's go to the most recurring questions for 2021. The first question deals with the social environmental management of our assets and of our relationship with the communities. What are the areas in which the company is working? In a pandemic scenario, how was ENGIE Brasil Energia's operations affected? Michelle, this is a mix of Pedro Bial and William Boner, TV hosts, well known in Brazil. Before giving the floor over to Luciana, I'd like to talk a bit about our work as it relates to the pandemic. And a word of thank you to all our associates who were present all the time, who made a lot of effort to generate energy, which is key to our operations, as you know.
An official, if I may, thank you to all of our employees for all the effort that you've put in and are putting in. We're still going through the pandemic, and now I turn it over to Luciana to address the question about pandemic actions and ESG issues.
Yes. Good morning, everyone. Starting with the preparation for the pandemic, to respond to the challenges posed by the pandemic. Challenge is the buzzword here when we talk about what happened back in March 2020. As everybody in the world, we needed to react quickly, and we had to start operating in a completely remote way of working. This was a major challenge. We had been getting ready for that.
On the technology front, we had a digital transformation plan in place for three years, and that allowed us to have the necessary tools in place to start operating remotely. The major challenge was not only in the office. We have an essential activity for society, which is energy generation. Energy generation could not be interrupted. We had to put a whole set of protocols and procedures in place. Those protocols were created and then updated and made flexible and shaped as we evolved to allow work both at the plant level and at the office level. Just to give you a glimpse, from the start of the pandemic until today, we have already conducted over 180,000 COVID tests in our own personnel and third-party people. We do have very strict protocols to fight the pandemic and ensure the well-being of our employees and third-party contractors.
Of course, aiming at maintaining our operations going. Now, speaking specifically about our social environmental initiatives in the communities around our assets, I'd say that the main important feature of those is the fact that we are very close to those communities with whom we have very close relationships. Our managers are there in the field, feeling the pain, and identifying actions that will effectively change people's quality of life. When we think from the standpoint of the environment, every year we invest about BRL 30 million in over 20 different programs across all locations where we operate. Some of those programs are, I could highlight a few of them, a program to protect water springs. It combines education and environmental preservation. We have young people from those communities. They are invited to participate in the program along with our technicians in place.
Along with the community, we do have effective actions in place to preserve water springs. In the 10 years we've been doing this, we have addressed over 1,300 springs in all the areas where we operate. Another very important program, which was mentioned briefly on the video, is our Biodiversity Program. This was a study which was conducted to map out all the biomes in the areas where we operate. At ENGIE Brasil Energia, we operate in five of the six Brazilian biomes. The mapping out of those areas allowed us to define what actions would be priority to preserve those areas. On the environmental front, when we move to the social front, we also have several different programs in place. We do have a track record, as Sattamini mentioned. We do have a long track record of social actions.
I would highlight our culture center. We have been a part of this program. It is a project which has been around for over 10 years. Yes, we do have six cultural programs and three in construction. The community has an active participation. We offer activities for young people when they're not in school. We also tend to the elderly. Those cultural centers work as meeting hubs for those people. They're usually implemented in cities with less than 100,000 people. We have had cases where, with the creation of the culture center, we helped contribute to mitigate crime and violence in the area. Those are very important projects. Yes, Luciana, we see a very high level of engagement on the part of our plant managers. That makes our social environmental investment provide very high returns.
We can see we do have what we call active listening to those stakeholders. We understand the needs in those areas, and we are able to deliver what is expected of us. Yes. That is what sets us apart. We are close to the communities. We are talking about large projects, but we do have smaller programs, sports-oriented programs, for example, that do a lot of good. They are there because we are there. We are close to them. We do have a couple of Olympic champions, right? People who are standing out. We do have dance classes, digital inclusion classes, and theater drama courses. Some of our former students are now part of international dancing companies. This is truly transformational. It does provide opportunity for those people to change their reality.
With the Parcerias do Bem, this was an old dream we had for a long time. It was launched just now. The idea is to expand the scope of those social projects and also expand the benefits, offering clients, partners, and stakeholders the chance to participate. We already have five partner companies. For 2022, we intend to expand the initiative even further. Yes. The idea is to multiply what we do, which is good. Question number two, talking about governance and transparency. ENGIE Brasil Energia has accounted BRL 1.4 billion in terms of the GEFON reimbursement. Malta and Sattamini, can you please address that and explain what that is about and what is the amount expected for the consortia plans? Is there an expectation of having added amounts?
Malta is the man to talk about numbers, but this is a long struggle we've faced in the industry, and that has shown a lot of maturity in terms of regulation in Brazil from the part of the federal agency. This started in 2012 and has been going on until that law was passed to reimburse those costs which were paid for by the plans. That shows how sound investments can be in the Brazilian electrical sector. It is reassuring for us to continue on that growth journey in Brazil. Malta, over to you. If you could please address the financial and accounting aspects of this item. Thank you, Sattamini. Good morning, everyone.
As mentioned in the question, we already recognize BRL 1.4 billion in our earnings statements, BRL 1.4 billion relative to the recovery of those costs which we had incurred in GSF in the past. In 2020, the amount which was recognized was relative to the plants that sold energy in the free market. In the third quarter of this year, we recognized that GSF arising from the effects of the plants which were impacted by the GEFON from 2012 through 2014. We still need to recognize the amounts coming from the plants where we have a consortia of companies. Just as a reminder, all the hydrological risk of those power plants, they were incurred by ENGIE Brasil Energia. Because of that, all the right to concession extension also falls under ENGIE Brasil Energia.
ANEEL's regulation required that all partners sign the necessary documents to provide guarantee and to provide extension for the concession. Those documents were filed at ANEEL in October, a couple of months ago. We expect those amounts to be recognized in Q4 2021. It is important to mention that we're talking about significant amounts. We have been negotiating a few terms for the agreement with our partner companies. We expect, as I said, to see those numbers accounted for in Q4. We have to recognize, Malta, this has been a joint work with other agents and with the government as well. The solution through concession extension does not generate immediate impacts on the consumer. That impact will be diluted throughout the years of the concession. This was a nice solution. It helps us control inflation as well. It was an innovative solution.
We need to acknowledge that and congratulate all the stakeholders in this negotiation. It was a very good idea. Of course, recognize this change in legislation, which was also very important. Okay. The last question in our block. As the transmission systems are ramped up, are you planning some change in the report presentation, such as earnings statements and earnings calls? Malta, over to you.
I think it is important to put things in perspective. More recently, we invested mainly in generation and trading of energy. In the past few years, we identified a change in our strategy. Now we started investing in transmission lines and gas pipeline as well. That, of course, led us to have other business segments in addition to generation, of course.
Of course, that also led us to present our numbers, our results broken down by segment in our explanatory notes to, of course, make explicit the share coming from all those different businesses. As we now have become a platform for investment and infrastructure, it is important to analyze the numbers by segment, but also to analyze them in a more consolidated base. Yes. We need to have the view of the whole, that's part of our strategy. We decided to diversify our operations. We moved from a generating company only to an investment platform. That's how we should be seen now. There will be segments which will fare better than others, but the resiliency will come from the very diversity of the assets. As we're talking about ESG, I'd like to talk about diversity and the inclusion of people.
Luciana, can you please tell us what we are doing on that front? Yes. For us to have our diversity and inclusion planning in place and to be effective along those fronts, our objective is that by 2030, we will have 50% of women managers. We started by analyzing the breakdown in terms of gender across our employee base. Based on that study, we identified that today we have 75% of our employees are men, 25% of our employees are women. That overall breakdown, of course, has differences when you drill down in different areas. When you go to O&M and implementation installation areas, we see that that rate changes. It moves to 83-17, 90-10, and so on.
We understand that our focus also had to be on attracting and training women for O&M, for example, so that we could change those proportions in a sustainable manner. Along with our partners, we try to identify ways to implement those training courses. As an example, we have an ongoing training course in Umburanas, where we have our wind plant installed along with Bahia SENAI. We are training 45 women technicians in different training courses to work in O&M for wind plants. We also operate to attract, retain, and speed up careers for women with mentorship programs, other training programs, and several other activities. Okay, Luciana, when I took over in 2016, we did not have one single woman manager in the company. Of course, we felt the need to have more gender diversity in our management. Today, we have nine women managers and officers.
We wanted to increase that number. We want to get to 50/50 sometime. We want to strike a gender balance, if I may. The way to do that was to start at the base, to start at the technical level, at the engineering level. We are an engineering company, an operation and maintenance company as well. We needed to attract women to perform those activities as well. It'll take some time, of course, but we will get there. It is a sustainable journey, and we count on the partnership of all of you, men and women, of course.
Thank you, Luciana, Malta, and Sattamini for this quick Q&A for the first block. Before we go to a break, I'd like to announce to those who joined us after we had started, that everybody in this room has been fully vaccinated and has tested for COVID.
That's why we're not wearing masks. We will now have a quick break. We'll be back in three minutes for the second block. You'll have a chance to take a look at our plan, our program for the day, right? Three minutes. We'll see you back in three minutes.
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We're back, and we would now like to speak about three very strategic issues for our business context. We're going to speak about regulatory, operational, and commercial topics in this block. We will begin the conversation speaking about the most serious water crisis in the last 90 years. This has questioned fundamental issues of the sector, the importance of the transmission sector for just and balanced distribution in Brazil. The national operator of the system is working on managing the supply and demand on a voluntary basis and the need of evolution of this hydrological issue.
More than ever, we have seen how important it is to adequately pay the electric generators, not only because of the breadth of the risks that we are exposed to, but because these risks can be transformed based on our national park. Now, to go more in depth in this context, we will see the video of Marcos Keller, our Market Regulation Officer.
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Yes, thank you, Leider. After guaranteeing the operation of our plants and delivering our product, which is energy, we can now speak about some commercial aspects. In this term, we have also become an ever more attractive company for clients that are interested in buying renewable energy or decarbonizing their operations. The growth of our green products shows this and proves that this is a positive trend not only for the sector, but for the industry as a whole. We are innovating in our strategy of new products and, of course, digitizing to be able to leverage our growth and increasing our portfolio in a very sustainable way.
To speak more about the deliveries of this year, we will now watch a video by Gabriel Mann, our Commercial Director.
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[Foreign language] Now, once we have presented the topics of block 2, we can speak with Marcos Keller, José Leitner, and Gabriel Mann, along with Sattamini. It could not be different to begin. Which will be the hydrology scenario in 2022? And if there is a risk of rationing in the short and medium term?
Michele, when we speak about hydrology, the strategy of the government was very positive in the last few months. To speak about hydrology, I would like to ask Marcos Keller to speak about the outlook for 2022. Good morning, everybody. In 2021, we have had our worst historical year. We had to adopt exceptional measures, as well as the operator. Of course, this had that impact on the risk of rationing that we previously had. Since the beginning of October, we have had rainfall beginning in a rather consistent way. This allows us to be in a somewhat more comfortable situation vis-à-vis previous months. If this will continue on into 2022, no. The risk of rationing is lower than what we faced in 2021. Why? We had the rainfalls. We have a better reservoir.
We will be entering 2022 in a better position than we expected. In 2022, we will maintain a more restricted operation of our hydroelectric plants. We're going to control the effluence in the plants, which will, of course, aid and abet the reservoir. We are going to use the hydroelectric systems whenever necessary to preserve our reservoirs until the end of 2022, which means that in 2022, there will be greater flexibility for the operator to maintain the reservoir and push away that risk of having a deficit. Another very intelligent move that was already mentioned by Sattamini was a more flexible system for the transmission. We are able to fully use our transmission system, and this is enabling us to better allocate energy in one or another place.
This will continue to work in 2022 if it becomes necessary, which means that we're entering 2022 with a much lower risk than this year. We're entering the period of rainfalls. We do need to have rain in a very consistent way in the northeast to fill in the reservoirs, but the outlook is much better than what we had last year. The government now does have the necessary tools in place to reassure us that we won't have rationing in the short term. We have a lot more thermal generation than we had in the past. We have much more transmission capacity than we had in 2021, and we have a much more diversified energy matrix than we had before. In terms of rationing, I don't see that coming.
We could have a risk of higher demand, but I am sure that the government is managing all of that in a more competent manner than in the past.
Very well, let's move on to the second question for the panel. What were the main challenges to implement remote operation at the plant level? What would stand in the way of us reaching 100% of remote operation? Leider is our operations specialist. He has been working hard for years for us to be able to automate our operations fully, centralize operations and everything. Leider, please, over to you.
Satan Mini, I'll start by saying that out of our 13 hydro plants, 10 are being operated remotely from our operation center.
Of our five wind projects, all of them are managed from here, and the only solar plant we have is always operated from our operation center, that is, remotely. Also, it is not our objective to be 100% remote. That's not our goal. Some assets demand local operations. For example, biomass plants cannot be operated remotely. In addition to that, whenever we move to a remote mode, the remote operation needs to add value. There has to be a reason for that to exist. We need to conduct an economic viability survey. The Santo Osorio plant, when we analyzed the remote operation possibility, it would require a change in the control system. As it was getting close to the end of the concession, that was not economically viable. It will continue to be managed locally and manually until the end of the concession, at least.
After that, we can go back and revisit the issue. As technology becomes cheaper, that situation might change in the future. Oh, yes, no doubt, no doubt. It can always happen, no doubt. As is, the current snapshot says that as for the plants that would be eligible to be operated remotely, hydro, solar, and wind, when we go to greenfield projects, they already emerge as remote projects. The main challenge is to transform locally managed operations to remote managed operations. In that case, in addition to having economic feasibility, we need to address two fundamental aspects. Number one, we should not increase operational risk. The level has to be at least the very same or better. Number two, we need to improve the very quality of the operations. We address those two points by conducting a risk assessment survey.
We hire or we outsource that service to an international consulting company, and then out of that work, a report is generated where we identify, we map out all that is needed to control risks in the operational level. Of course, we implement all those actions, and we establish contingency plans for specific procedures specific to remote operations. Of course, we use state-of-the-art technology to be able to operate and manage and mitigate those risks. We, of course, train our operators to the best of our ability. We try to address all that very effectively. We also need to take into account the fact that some job posts are simply eliminated. What happens to those people whose jobs no longer exist? When we have something like that, we have always tried to analyze our retirement plans for operators.
Oftentimes, we are able to bring some of them in-house to our operation center. We have more plants, so we need more operators at the operation center. Others are transferred to other local plants. Sometimes they change their career path. Some operators became maintenance people. There is a small team that has to be working locally. With all of that combined, we have worked on several hydro plants, and our track record shows that we have not increased operational risk in any of those plants. The quality of the operation across all plants improved. That has been proven by our KPIs. We did it without firing one single employee. We were able to combine all of that. We combined local, remote, and retirement plans. That was very, very good. Of course, that is reassuring for our employees. They feel that we respect their work.
Now, Leitner, also important to address, when we automate, we also digitalize. With that, we improve the way we capture data relative to operations. With that, we can have better scheduled maintenance plans. We can better assess performance. We are operating at a much closer level to the assets. Yes, you are correct. All the technological advances that came with the digitalization of processes today. If I have a turbine specialist and they are in Europe in a meeting, he can get on his cell phone or his computer, and he can have access to all information he would need to analyze the problem just as if he were here on the field. That, of course, provides a higher level of agility and provides more quality to the end result. Thank you.
Thank you.
We have been talking about the need to revisit the fiscal guarantees at the plant level, hydro plant level. When will we see that review? When will that provide more efficiency to the MRE system? Oh, that's a hot topic, Michelle. We've been reading that in the news for Eletrobras. Keller, please, can you address that? How do you see the review of the fiscal guarantee for hydro plants?
This will happen very, very soon. 2023, we expect. In 2018, we had the last ordinary review. That is when it was established that those guarantees had to be reviewed every five years. In 2022, all those assumptions will be analyzed. It is just important to analyze all that data before we review the MRE. You have to review, of course, the critical period once again.
What happens in relation to the moment we're going through right now? We're going through a transition moment, Sattamini. As we've seen this year, we've had the worst water crisis in 91 years. When we combine 2020 and our database and fiscal guarantee, the model shows us that we are going through a critical period. Why is this important? Because it affects the review of fiscal guarantees. That's the allocating criteria for the distribution of fiscal guarantees for plants. We expect that to be taken into account as that review is conducted in 2023. All those amounts will be discussed and will be announced in 2022 as assumptions. It's fundamental. It's key that the review of the fiscal guarantee for Eletrobras is also calculated on the basis of the same assumptions.
Throughout the capitalization process, the fiscal guarantees were calculated without taking 2020 into account. Now, 2020 has been validated. The ONS has already included those numbers in their database. When we combine all of those new data, the fiscal guarantees that should be included now are quite below the level of those which are being discussed now in the capitalization process. Keller, could you give us some more color? The previous critical period happened when? When is the next critical period?
That makes a lot of difference when you place the critical period. Several decades ago, 80 years ago or 70 years ago, 1950, 1940, we can talk about since different rainfall patterns to the very use that we make of water today, 80 years later. The level of rainfall arriving and the use that we have for water today, lots of changes.
That is why it is important to review the critical period. We have had this sequence of bad years from 2012 onwards, and that configured a new critical period. As per the local rules, those procedures change significantly. If you use one period or another, you will have a different sum total of energy to be split across the different agencies. Yes, and the same goes for the fiscal guarantees. For Electrobrás, for example, the number would be much lower.
Why do we need to correct that? Because if we do not, how are we going to check that?
We are talking about a 30-year contract, and the next reviews will happen throughout the concession period. That would be an unfair situation for all the other agents because, again, we are talking about a 30-year period. Okay, okay.
Motivated by this discussion, I'd like to pass on another recurring question about the price offer model. How does that work, the price offer model? The only one who's able to answer that is Keller.
I've been asking myself, how are you going to combine price offer with the optimization of the hydro thermal system where you have to optimize the use of water at the reservoir level? I'll try to be as brief as possible, Michelle. Basically, this is a very competitive process in which each generating agent would provide the operator a fair price volume. I want to dispatch X number of watts at the following price for hydro plants as well. That would replace the cost of opportunity for the water which is used today.
This new process would allow us to define the opportunity cost that we see vis-à-vis our dispatches that would lead to pricing, of course, but not necessarily to dispatch. That's important to say, Sattamini. The operator will have full control on dispatching the system from their reservoir levels. The economic impact would be different if each generating agent could challenge in a good way, could challenge the ONS dispatch. The physical dispatch would remain the same, but I would have a virtual inventory of water if I thought it was not the right time to dispatch, as if I had a graphic account. Yes. That, of course, brings a lot of responsibility for the generating agents because that's an incentive for us to dispatch in a more economically viable way.
If I use my water now and the cost of opportunity is higher in the future, I'm going to be losing revenue. That is a delicate issue. This should be done independently from the operator. We are now working on an R&D project with the CCE, the electric chamber. The price offer model goes well with the MRES, and it also addresses another issue, which is the market power on the part of the agents. The idea is to have a distributed intelligence across all the agents without affecting the physical dispatch from the ONS.
Thank you. Now, the fifth question about the reflexes that can be expected on energy prices in the mid to the long run coming from the foreign exchange devaluation and also an increase in commodity prices. I'd like to move the floor over to Gabriel.
Gabriel is probably already seeing a reflex on prices. We know that commodity prices have gone up, and I would imagine this is already affecting the market, right, Gabriel?
Yes, Sattamini, the answer is yes. Prices in the mid to the long run will go up. That hike in commodity prices, and also, which was not mentioned, but Michele, which also leads to that, which is an increase in the interest rates, all of that combined, at the end of the day, push projects up. That includes financing, implementation, construction. All those prices go up. As a consequence, the price for those projects will also increase. We have been feeling that in the market. We've seen that in the projects we are now developing. Another effect that we see, and when we talk about project development, we're going to be touching upon that as well.
There is also an effect coming from the availability of equipment manufacturers. We see a growth in the number of projects, and as a consequence, there is a consumption level in the manufacturers' capacity to produce. All of that combined leads to an increase in prices, an increase in lead times. The market has been affected by all of that, no doubt. We still see a very high level of interest on the part of the consumers in hiring energy in the long run, even with the price increase. There's another element to include, which was the logistics chain disruption. There is a shortage of containers, a shortage of vessels, and that will impact costs as well. In any event, that's a reflex, right?
When you have a foreign exchange deval, you increase the competitiveness of the local industry if you have inventory and so on. As new demand for inputs comes linked to a new foreign exchange, it'll create this natural readjustment of the economy.
Gabriel, we have two aspects: the long-term aspect in terms of cost, and we also have the short-term aspect. We always see the spot price effect, as Keller said, which comes from hydrology, either better or worse. How do those affect prices?
Hydrology affects the short run rather than the long run. I think it affects, of course, those that are not contracted. As generators, usually we are well contracted forward in the short run. That's how we started to be contracted in the long term, in the short term, rather, and less contracted in the long term.
That volatility in prices in the short run affects us less, affects us less from the commercial point of view. Of course, there is an effect around GSF and hydrology and other impacts that might affect our results. From the point of view of consumers, we see that for most consumers, that strategy of anticipating contraction to try to evade short-term volatility is there. Of course, it'll depend on the strategy of each company. We still see consumers that leave consumption to be contracted in the short run, and then, of course, they'll suffer higher impacts, which may be positive or negative. As of recent, it has been negative.
Thank you, Gabriel. Good answer. Hydrology affecting in the short run, and there is effect in the coming years, but then structural costs will be affected in the long run.
You did mention GSF, and now we still have a few minutes to finish the block. The question for Keller: how are we hedging against GSF, and how has the water crisis affected us, and what's the portfolio management strategy that you have?
In the last few years, we did have systematic exacerbation in terms of hydrology. Presently, we're better prepared in the case of critical hydrology. Now, the cost of this will be much greater. To be more conservative in hydrological hedging offers us a better cost when we think about short-term contracting. We have a more judicious vision at present. We're not saying that what happened in 2021 will repeat itself going forward, but in 2022 and going forward, we will be more rigorous and much more attentive to our hydrological risk.
Now, to have protection against the risk should it occur again, and I do not know in the short term. Our strategy does focus in the short term, but we do have to capture opportunities. If the GSF is not what we expected, if it is somewhat better, we can sell our energy at higher prices, and we will have the correct strategy. Maintain some energy uncontracted will protect us and avoid the suffering perhaps that we would face in the case of critical hydrological situations. We thank our experts for this debate in the second block. We will once again have a very short pause of three minutes. Look at the agenda for the next block. [Foreign language]
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We have found several challenges along the way. The implementation of new transmission projects means that we have worked at the sector level, and we want to be the main actors in this change. We will not accept bad indices in this industry as a reality. This means that for ENGIE, in the eyes of the investor that is seeking quick returns, it is not competitive if we gain in scale. On the other hand, we have financial discipline that does not enable us to take on risks with incompatible returns. This balance between competitiveness and return is a fundamental factor in the decisions we make in the company. For years, we have grown in a profitable, stable, and sustainable way, and this is how we will continue to approach this more in depth. We will see the video of Marc Celoneves, our Implementation Director.
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However, this growth shows the fundamental role that Brazil has in the growth plan for ENGIE globally. ENGIE Brasil Energia is at the center of this vision of the future, and our appetite for growth, albeit strong, is highly responsible. We're very attentive to all of the market movements, and we act in accordance with technological trends and the opportunities that arise. To speak to us more about this, I will give the floor to Guilherme Fedari, the New Business Officer for the company. [Foreign language]
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[Foreign language]. Very well, let us begin our debate speaking about the implementation of new businesses and new projects. Sattamini, at a strategic level, how will the company grow in renewable generation in the short, medium, and long run, and which are the main challenges? Michele, the group has the mission of growing considerably in coming years to get to an installed capacity of 50 gigawatts in 2030, and we are part of this strategy. For this, we are acquiring new projects, building new plants. We refer to Santo Agostinho. I would like to ask Guilherme to speak about our growth plans and the new energy sources in greater detail. A good morning to all of you. Good morning, Sattamini. Once again, a pleasure to be part of Inside ENGIE. This is an interesting and important topic for the company growth.
Brazil continues to be one of the focus points for the growth of the company, and in the last few years, we have had a great deal of organic growth in the company. Through acquisition, we have sought out robust growth, and we have a very strong pillar when it comes to the development of competencies and implementation, our commercial strategy. As Gabriel mentioned, this is fundamental for the company's success, and throughout the operation, we seek excellent performance, and this has already been addressed. When we speak about the company growth, we have a very robust pipeline. This year, we acquired the Açu project, which is at the final stages.
We should begin working at the beginning of 2022, and presently, we have 1 gigawatt signed for in terms of exclusivity for the horizon of 2022-2025, and we will continue to have the fuel subsidy, which is important for the clients. Besides the projects that extend to 2025, we have to think of the long run. In our portfolio, we have a high number of wind projects that will be developed: Umburanas, Campo Largo, and Santo Agostinho. These are project extensions, and we also have solar projects that are being developed in the same sites: Campo Largo and Santo Agostinho. We could benefit from the resolution that was launched by ANEEL for hybrid projects, where we have contracts for the use of the system, and we can also benefit these social projects.
Also important for our growth, as Sattamini mentioned early on, today we have an investment platform.
Transmission projects take a different role. Next week, on the 17th, we have a transmission auction. We will be participating with two lots, Lot Number One and Lot Number Four. Those lots are quite important. Lot One, for example, is adjacent to Gralha Azul, which we are developing right now. We are getting close to full commercial operation of that project that should be happening in the coming months. That project is very specific. It does have very important challenges around geography, geology, location. We need to really know the region to implement the project. Our engineering and implementation teams have been working on this project since the beginning of the year. We are quite focused on making that feasible. Lot Number Four will be auctioned. It is also an important auction.
It is located close to one of our generating assets, so we can benefit from some of those synergies. In short, two very important lots. In the long run, to wrap up, next year there are more lots to be auctioned off by the government. Fifteen lots have been announced for next year's auction, and you'll be starting to analyze those lots. Another interesting approach that we have ongoing is an HDVC project, which should be going for auction in 2023, and we are also with our eyes on that project. Okay, Guilherme. Another part of the question that we could also address is how to make that growth unfold in a competitive and profitable way at the same time. How do we prepare for that? The search for profitability is always there. We need to start by selecting our projects well.
We always try to have in our pipeline projects that have excellent capacity factors, excellent natural resources, solar and wind resources as well. Also key to our competitiveness is the competence that we can show during the implementation phase. As of late, all our renewable projects have managed to reduce CapEx, and also have they been able to anticipate the commercial ramp-up? Of course, that sets us apart in competitive terms. It is important for us to differentiate ourselves on that front. Just to be sure, that goes beyond our commercial strategy. It is key for us to be able to set ourselves apart. Instead of having one, two, or three, we have 150-200 clients. We can access clients that are able to pay energy prices above the market average. That's what we're looking for, right?
We're trying to find smaller clients where we have an additional benefit to offer. Those clients would be willing to capture that benefit in the free market, right, at a higher tariff. The benefits would offset that. An important aspect that we've seen throughout 2021 and back in 2020 is the level of credibility of energy suppliers. ENGIE Brasil Energia delivers on their contracts. We do have an energy portfolio that is oftentimes not the case of other players that come to market. They're new entrants oftentimes, and they do not have the ability to offset delays or problems, financing issues or implementation issues, environmental issues. At the end of the day, they leave their clients hanging out to dry, not us. We do have the ability, even amidst difficult situations, we are able to deliver what we promise.
Just to reinforce our ability to leverage financially our projects, we have financing sources, BNP and BNDES, of course, but also we can also issue debentures. That, again, is a differentiating factor. We do offer attractive rates, and of course, that adds to our competitive edge. Very well. Let's talk about new business strategy and talk about challenges in implementation, especially because we have projects in remote areas distant from urban centers. What are those challenges? Challenges abound, as you know, to be entrepreneurial in Brazil. It is a Herculean effort, as you know.
Good morning, everyone. Good morning, Sattamini. Implementation challenges are, of course, significant. Recently, we started implementing projects in remote areas, and we've been quite successful. Our wind projects are being ramped up now, Campo Largo 2.
We're now in phase number three, and this has been happening for all the years when we got there. It was a very remote, very isolated area. Novo Estado again, 1,800 km of transmission lines cutting across Pará, Tocantins States, cutting across several small cities in remote areas. The first challenge, without a doubt, is logistics. It's to be able to get to those locations with large pieces of equipment and so on. Another main challenge has to do with the qualified labor. As we move further to more remote places, it's more difficult to attract qualified, competent personnel. Personnel selection is key. We have to make sure people who are working there are competent, skilled, and that we are able to implement quality and safety procedures across all our work fronts. There are many.
In transmission projects, we have over 300 work fronts working in parallel, and it is our responsibility to monitor that very closely. I do believe we've been doing that very successfully. We are poised to participate in new auctions, as Guilherme said, and we are able to implement new projects anywhere in Brazil. Marcel, there is something very important to address as you try to connect with the first block when Luciana talked about it. Whenever you go to remote areas, the state is less present, the higher are the local needs of the community. How do we address that as we implement new projects in areas which are so needy of so many things?
The first phase of any implementation project is to map out all stakeholders, the main communities, the main leaderships in those communities, the role of the state, of the city, and those locations. As you said, what the needs are for those communities are adjacent to our projects. We have this mission of contributing with the development of those communities with our assets. During the implementation phase, when we map out those communities, it is important to get close to those leaderships. As we map out those needs, we can develop social projects collectively, especially focused on health, education, safety, along with the cities. That is one of the legacy projects that we leave behind: concrete material improvement in the quality of lives of those people, in addition to job generation, revenue generation, of course.
I am very happy to see when I visit those remote locations where we are implementing or have implemented projects. I'm glad to see people say, "Well, we split our history before ENGIE and after ENGIE." It is a true transformation, and that is also our role. Very well. That is a source of a lot of pride here, this work along with communities, mapping out priorities so that we can work consistently with their needs. We believe that all renewable projects that are now being submitted for approval will be developed. How does ENGIE Brasil Energia see that race as it refers to bottlenecks and points of connections and the end of subsidies in February 2022? If all of those projects materialize, we'll have a transmission line going around the globe to be able to provide energy to the world.
I'd like Guilherme to address that about this pipeline and the outlook for the implementation of those projects. As it was said, we could provide energy to the world with all the capacity that's being submitted for approval with ANEEL, the Federal Agency for Electricity. A month ago, we heard that Chile was after a transmission line to export energy to China. We're going to connect to Chile and then to China. Just the jokes aside, all of that comes from Law 14120, which was passed this year, which anticipates the end of the subsidies for projects that are ramped up after February 2022 in terms of authorization. That led to a race on projects, projects that wanted to maintain that fuel benefit.
To give you an idea, October data, that's always changing, of course, but October data said that we had over 40 gigawatts in wind projects, 10 in authorization process. We see something that Keller mentioned before in the previous block. There is a symmetry between solar and wind projects. For wind projects, we do need to raise a guarantee, and that, of course, intimidates or shuns investors. They become more cautious because they need to take on delivery conditions, and that, of course, affects them. As for solar, we have an amount of 200 gigawatts of BRO and almost 30 gigawatts being authorized. That is a serious issue that impacts the supply chain. It impacts the ability to transmit energy in the northeastern region of Brazil.
Companies that do want to implement those projects face difficulties because when they start on a project to access the ONS, there is a connection restriction. It is a major challenge. There's, of course, an uncertainty level for demand. As Sattamini said, if all those projects are approved, there's no demand for all those projects, simply said. Those are important aspects to be assessed. The regulating agency has to be paying attention to that to avoid or to prevent that race because that impacts the system negatively. Guilherme, I also see that as a very positive point. We were joking about exporting energy to the world, but with the green hydrogen technology, we see good perspectives for renewable energy in Brazil. Of course, we're going through an extreme situation now because of the end of that tariff benefit.
It is starting next year that will no longer be in place. When we look ahead and we look at renewable energy sources, we see a broadening of that frontier. If we can provide renewable energy to hydrogen projects and ammonia projects, where that commodity, if I may, could be sold to Europe or Africa, the U.S., Asia, wherever it is needed. We will be transferring energy. When we transform that into energy by burning hydrogen or by burning ammonia, it would be, to some extent, allowing for the exportation of that renewable energy. Of course, that also represents opportunities for the generating system in Brazil. Yes, you are correct. The hydrogen issue in Brazil is important.
If that technology comes to be, and there are several works around that going on, Brazil will be an export hub for hydrogen in Brazil because green hydrogen requires renewable sources. Brazil is the main hub in Brazil for renewable energy. We have over 200 gigs onshore of capacity for wind projects. We still have vast areas for solar projects. Brazil will certainly be a good main player if the hydrogen technology comes to be. This will happen. We hope that ENGIE will be ready to meet that new demand. Guilherme, in fact, we are a global player. We have that competitive advantage of having a footprint across all continents. This will, of course, represent an edge for us, no doubt. This is the company's main edge. We are present in Europe. Europe will be one of the main consumers of hydrogen.
If we tap on our capacity in Europe to sell hydrogen, this will be another competitive edge for us. Of course, across all other areas where we are present. Michele will be able to explore that in the following block when we talk about gas pipelines with Gustavo. Exactly. That is a spoiler for block number four. We have one final question. We are pressed for time. I will be touching upon two topics for you to address, if you will. Number one, about the anticipation of concession renewal for hydro plants, and also about an interest in transmission line auctions and whether there is an interest in pursuing M&A possibilities. I will be talking about concession renewals. There is conversation going on with the government about the possibility of anticipating renewals. Those conversations are well advanced, but they have not really materialized.
They do bring a benefit for the concession holder, the current concession holder, to be able to explain an additional 20 years or having a different concession scheme. That will need to happen through legislation. It is not a bilateral conversation that needs to be taken to the lower house and then to the Senate. The outlook is interesting for us hydro operators. It is also a way for the government to generate more additional revenue to balance their fiscal balance. As for the second question, the M&A portion and transmission line auctions, I'll turn it over to Guilherme. In terms of M&A, we were successful in acquiring the Novo Estado project. Sterlite was going through some difficulties, so we had a good opportunity to acquire them. In terms of M&A, something similar to Novo Estado, that is becoming increasingly more difficult.
There is a regulatory barrier now starting in 2020, and now only allows the transfer of the asset after the commercial ramp-up. Companies that have implementation difficulties will not be able to transfer the asset or sell the asset. There is also a situation where we have seen very fierce competition at the auctions with low return rates. Throughout the pandemic, we have seen that volatility around commodities. Project CapEx levels went up. For the past few months, we saw an increase in interest rates and all of that harms return rates. If they go to market, it will be difficult for them to sell at competitive prices because, again, margins are quite compressed by all those external factors that I mentioned, which unfolded after the transmission auctions. Speaking about growth in transmission, I can add a new question to Marcio.
Today, with the construction of our transmission systems, we see demand to carry out AOR studies, which is sort of a first step towards future transmission line expansion projects. That, of course, makes us more interested in potential connections to our lines. Tell us where we stand on the implementation front. Well said, Sattamini. That's an activity which is relatively new for the company. We have already conducted a complex study, which will be used for the next auction. As Guilherme just mentioned, the Lot 1 auction, that's the lot we studied in detail. That was a demand from the Energy Research Company. The idea is to get to know the region better, also check the possibility of anticipating licenses so that we can start implementing earlier. A series of competitive advantages for us as we go into auctions.
That is an initiative which is already in place, and we intend to conduct more of those studies. We do have an engineering area which is quite sound and which is able to conduct those studies along with our development area. It also allows us, just in closing, allows us to identify potential expansions that we can have in our substations, which also generate future revenue streams even for existing projects.
Therefore, we comply with the request for studies made by ANEEL, and we invest additional resources when it is our understanding that the expansion will be interesting for us, and we go more in depth with resources. Is that what happens? Yes. This is the example of Gralha Azul, where we have a great deal of synergy.
It will be connected to the existing substation in Ponta Grossa, and this survey will enable us to analyze other synergies, making us ever more competitive in future auctions. Thank you. Thank you very much, Marcio, Guilherme, and Sattamini for the debate. For the third block, we go for a short pause, and we will resume in three minutes with the fourth block, speaking about TAG, the opening of the gas market and investments in this segment.
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This is a topic that is being questioned by investors, the gas market.
Make the most to know some more, and do not forget to write up your questions for the fifth and the last block. This is a very legitimate curiosity. This is a market that is opening up thanks to a recent evolution in legislation. With this, we hope to have a more solid market with well-defined rules, attracting a greater number of agents, and something that will become self-sustainable. With this, I would like to show you the video of Gustavo La Banca, the President of TAG.
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[Foreign language]Ve ry good. Let us go on to the debate. The first question is about regulatory strides that are still necessary to speed up the development of the gas market. Before giving the floor to Gustavo to answer the question, I would like to thank Gustavo, the team, and TAG for their excellent results, contributing to the results of ENGIE Brasil Energia. That is why Gustavo is here with us.
He has worked very deftly with the regulator and other class entities to foster an efficient and conscious and economically viable method. Very well, Gustavo, you can now answer the question in terms of the evolution. Thank you, Sattamini. I'm extremely happy to participate once again in Inside ENGIE. It's a framework for investors and the company. It's also important because of ESG. You're always innovating in terms of the company governance. The question, of course, is very important, very well posed. The regulatory challenges we have in the sector. It's also important to mention that the new gas law that is in effect demanded the work of an entire decade, including all of the links of the chain. This means there was a very broad and in-depth analysis, and the law has come here with the proper characteristics to truly guarantee the opening of the market.
It refers to necessary infrastructure for the transport of gas, a regime of authorization for the construction of more pipelines for the transportation, enabling us to expand the mesh and allowing more autonomy for the regulator, which is a very important aspect, of course, to have an autonomous and independent regulator. Now, what exists in the market are expectations for the short run, and we require high capital investments, and maturity and the long-term issues will not be resolved in the short term. We had a player that was monopolistic, which will continue to be dominant, but we need to have the entry of other agents, and this will take time. To be able to speed up this opening, at least on the regulatory side, we need a coordination between the ANP, the regulatory agent regulating the transport, exploration, and the state agents that regulate the distribution of gas.
We require a good alignment coordination, enabling us to move ahead. As we are here at ENGIE and speaking about electrical energy generation for the gas sector, it is also important to have coordination between ANP and ANEEL and other agencies for the generation of electrical energy. This will be an anchor for the development of the gas market. Now, to sum all of this up, coordination between the federal agent and the states, and on the other hand, coordination of the gas agent and the agents in the electrical energy sector. Gustavo, I think you touched upon a very important point that surprises me. You have a long-term vision how to go from a model of monopoly into a market model. This, of course, will require time.
We have already been educating the market regarding this, telling them they should not expect significant growth in the gas market, that this will be a lengthy process. We need to have the regulation to allow for a market opening, but the pace has been much faster than expected. Presently, we're able to make available 20% of the capacity of the pipelines to service the clients that Petrobras is no longer able to service. This brings about a new dynamic and enhances our expectations. Of course, we know that this will take some time. We require adaptations, but you have been doing significant work at TAG with the ANP, the National Oil Agency, to accelerate this transformation. Thank you, Sattamini.
I have two more questions. Number one, about what's still missing for capacity offer in 2022? Another very good question, which complements what Sattamini was just saying.
We've been working along with other links in the chain to be able to make sure we can have other agents being able to access the transportation network as of next year so that they can sell or trade their gas. Briefly explaining what used to happen before this year is that Petrobras had its own partners for production and exploration, and Petrobras would buy gas from their partners, and then Petrobras would sell that gas in the market. Now, those partners need to go to market to be able to trade that gas, and that will generate a competition around the molecule and a consequent drop in prices. You have more people offering the same product that creates competition. We are working along with the regulating agency for common ordinary contracts, and we've done that through our platform for capacity offer.
We registered 10 interested agents interested in accessing our network, and out of those 10, 9 reserved capacity for 2022. It was a significant amount. It was surprising, something close to 12 million cubic meters, including entry and exit capacities. That is, of course, public information. It can be accessed in our web chart. We have Shell, Equinor, and other players, Petroecon comago, they are all present. That, of course, provides more dynamism to the market. What is missing, to your point? Yesterday, we heard the news that we have the Comfice adjustment, which was just announced. Producers needed to have that adjustment to be able to receive the gas at the treatment statement of Petrobras. This was announced yesterday.
Now we have the phase where we'll deliver financial guarantees, and we need to adjust a few contracts that reduce flexibility with Petrobras and also free the network. We need the molecule, in short. We need the molecule to be able to meet the needs of those new clients. And that molecule, it is actually a CapEx, which will be remunerated at the tariff level. Exactly, Sattamini. In our pipeline, we have the line back, the gas within the system, and we need that minimum volume to be able to operate. Today, that's all held by Petrobras. As we have new players coming in, we'll need to buy that at a pro-rata basis to be able to have that inventory with us, and that becomes an asset under TAG, which will be compensated by the regulating agency. Okay, very good.
Let's move to the third question, which has to do with the same discussion. What are the growth avenues for TAG? And if you are taking into consideration the construction of new pipelines. Gustavo, of course, you will address that, but I'd like to say that as a member of the board at TAG and as a representative of ENGIE as an investor into the company, we have been trying to support new initiatives, and we are quite excited with those perspectives. Over to you, Gustavo.
Thank you, Sattamini. Also, a big thank you to the whole board of the directors and all shareholders who have been very supportive of us across this journey. To your point, the answer is yes. We want to expand the network. We want to grow sustainably.
When I say sustainable, it's, of course, we rely on profitability, and also we rely on health and safety and the environment. We want to do that continuously and in the long run, of course. It's nice to be able to talk about our view. Our view, which, of course, is supported by the board, is to play a leading role in this market. To play a leading role in this market, we need to actively operate so that the opening of the market will actually materialize. We believe in this virtual cycle for gas. We will have new supply sources connected to the transportation network, and this will generate more competition in the offering side of the molecule, consequently, a higher demand coming from the thermoelectric sector, from the companies, and this will generate a virtual cycle.
The more users we have, the cheaper the access becomes. That, of course, makes room for new investments and the construction of new pipelines. On the video we just showed, I mentioned a plan for BRL 1.5 billion between 2021 and 2025. We are now revisiting. We're trying to be more ambitious for that cycle. In any event, out of that amount, we have something reserved for maintenance of the assets, maintenance plans, and so on to get the company ready to carry on with its operations. We have a portion of that amount dedicated to expansion to remove bottlenecks we have in the system today, some pipeline sections that might require more compression to transport more gas, and also new expansions per se. Today, we do have a few projects in place.
The main one looking at the expansion plot would be the LNG terminal in Sergipe, a 25 km portion, which will be very important not only for TAG, but for the whole integrated gas system in Brazil. We are already working on it. It has been approved by the board, and we have authorization to move on. We have the green light to seek all licenses. We have some gas delivery points. I'll mention one, Atiba in Bahia, the city gate for Bahia gas. We have a team there on site to develop that. We have a project that will start to implement early next year, the Gasfor II and the city of Fortaleza metropolitan area. It's not really an expansion, but we're building an 80 km pipeline section to reduce the risks that we have provided that we are cutting across the metropolitan area.
There is impact on highways, bridges. We are investing BRL 250 million in that project, and we are now getting close to the final phases of obtaining the environmental licenses. The short answer is yes, we do believe in this market, and we want to play a leading role, as I said, and invest heavily. I feel the importance of everyone being connected so that we can value cost and be more efficient, correct? Yeah, that is probably the most important question so far. As we develop the sector in the recent past, some projects, some sources of gas, which are not connected to the transportation and distribution network, that, of course, creates inefficiencies. This is not a critique to investors, but that might deem the project feasible in the short run, but for the country in the long run, it is important that those sources are all connected.
I repeat, an integrated network of pipelines, including transportation and distribution, they are not competing. They are complementary. Transportation connects the sources, generates competition for the molecule, and the distribution front connects to demand. The cheaper is the molecule, the higher the demand will be. To that point, the ENGIE Group in Brazil and in France, in Europe, in France, 32,000 km of gas and GRF with 200,000 km of gas distribution. There is a number in the market that for each kilometer of the pipeline, we are talking about 8-10 km for distribution. That is where you see sort of a footprint where you have a federal highway and the state highways connected. We need to work in a coordinated, integrated manner for that work. The more optimized the structure is, the better it will be for the country. Excellent. Thank you, Gustavo.
Thank you, Sattamini, for the information you shared in this fourth block. Now we're going to move on to the last break. We'll be back in three minutes. That means you have three minutes to post your final burning questions that you want to see answered in the last half hour of this meeting. For the roundtable, we'll have Rafael Bozio, our IR manager, who will be moderating the panel. We'll be back in three minutes.
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I am Rafael Bozio, the IR manager for ENGIE Brasil Energia. It's wonderful to be here with you, and thank you for your participation and questions, making this a very dynamic event. I will do my utmost to include all of the recurrent questions. Now, not all of the questions will be answered, so you can send your questions to our IR team at the site. Your participation in the form that we will send you after Inside ENGIE is also very important. We would like to get feedback from you. This will, of course, enable us to be able to improve in the future.
Lastly, and not less important, the full recording of this event will also be made available at the IR site. Very well. Now, we can clarify the main doubts through our executives that are all here together to respond to your questions. We're receiving the questions on a tablet. We have already selected some of them, and the first question refers to the Entrepreneurial Sustainability Index coming from Ms. Almeida. ENGIE has not remained in the index in this new round of the B3 index. Is there a program for Pampa Sul? And is this the reason why ENGIE was not confirmed once again? Yes, we were also surprised by the fact that we're not in that first round that was announced by the B3. At that point in time, there was a new point in the Sustainability Index, which is the Carbon Disclosure Project, the CDP.
This data was only made available by the CDP on December 7th. ENGIE, as well as other companies, were left without the score that was needed to calculate if they would remain on the index or not. Do not be concerned. On December 16th, we will be there, and in a very good position. We are a sustainable company, and we will keep ourselves at the top of the companies. Now, to add to this, we have a question on Pampa Sul. Let's speak about decarbonization or abatement. It's important to mention that at the beginning of 2020, we had 5.8 million tons of carbon equivalent in terms of greenhouse gas. We have had a reduction of 50% in this amount, and those 5.8 million tons is already an asset that is up for sale. With this, our greenhouse gas inventory will be 50,000 tons.
Despite all of this, we are in the Sustainability Index since the very beginning. We are one of the six companies that have been in the index since it was set forth. We already had the Jorge Lacerda complex, and it does look upon emissions as an index. We are improving in this realm. We will continue to improve, and it's not a reason not to participate in this index. The problem was a matter of information. The stock market had a very rigorous information plan. We had to issue information on December 1 with the certification of this process, and some companies such as ours will only be announced in the second round that will take place on December 16. Thank you, Sattamini and Luciana. Next question, approaching the financial area. First for Sattamini and then for Marcos, perhaps.
You mentioned the coming into operation of your transmission assets, which is the contribution of these projects for the ENGIE results in 2022 and 2023. Malta, how about you answering the question? Thank you for the question. Our outlook in terms of the beginning of operation of Gralha Azul is still aligned with what we have disseminated for the market at the end of the year. Novo Estado, as mentioned, we have a significant portion of the line representing 55% of the RAP already coming into operation at the beginning of 2022, and the rest of the line for the end of the first semester. When it comes to the impact on our results, both lines have a RAP at historical values of BRL 570 million. Now, if we update this amount, it is BRL 570 million.
With all of this in hand, you can calculate how much these two assets will be adding to the company results. Thank you, Malta, Sattamini. Next question from Vladimir Pinto from Quirón. This goes to Keller after going through Sattamini. If you do not add 2020 in the insured energy for Electroplast, what can you do to change this? I think Keller will respond to this, but I would like to thank the question from our router of the Flamingo team. We know how important this project is for the government. We also believe it is possible. We are working with the Ministry of Energy and class entities to review the physical area once again. We think it is possible to carry out a supervision. Now, if this is not done, there should be another way of mitigating damage.
There are more creative ways of doing this, but we will leave this going forward. First of all, we would like to focus on the physical area. What I would like to highlight is that we still did not have the validation of the National Water Agency. What was done was on the last day of November, and I believe the government fully understands that it will have to carry out this alteration to guarantee that it has more updated data, and the recalculation will have to be done with updated data. As hydro operators were calmer with this, and the future investors that will be part of the Electroplast capitalization will have better physical guarantees and the guarantee of returns from this. Thank you. Keller, Sattamini. A question for the trading area. Two questions from Maria Carolina Carneiro from Credit Suisse.
With greater competition in terms of renewable energy and new players, is there a structural risk in terms of the free market contracts that have already been signed with higher prices? I will send this question to Guilherme, who will speak about new entrants and new capacity. What we observe is that the prices are increasing. When we look at the market, we can no longer find cheap energy as we used to be able to, and perhaps there was a greater appetite for growth at that time than for profitability. This was a difficult position for companies, companies that had sold energy without an exchange hedge or a hedge for the acquisition of equipment. Of course, counting upon a drop of prices because of technological improvements, this did not materialize.
We see some projects in the market with a difficulty to keep standing, and if the sponsor does not have financial capacity, this, of course, will cause frustration in the supply foreseen. Now, this price trend that we had observed with a drop in prices has changed significantly, and we see a considerable hike in the medium and long term. I think you covered most of the main points, and Gabriel had already mentioned the trend for price hikes, basically due to the cost of investment. Because of the pandemic, we are all aware that there has been an increase in commodity prices, and they are fundamental for solar and wind projects. Price increase in labor as well, and risk mitigation on the part of the builders who have undergone significant difficulties in the transmission projects.
What we observe are builders facing serious problems because of a set of problems concentrating in a single period, not allowing them to perform. This is happening in renewable projects, and because of this, in the medium and long term, the price trend will be towards an increase, as well as an increase in the cost of funding because of the interest rate, and all of this will have an impact on the energy tariff. We have felt and observed in the market when we speak to clients this concern with the delivery of projects that were hired by clients and project developers, and this includes competition. We have some consumers who come to us to hire energy because of the delays in the project. They try to contract that part of the project with a delay.
If I have understood Maria Carolina's question properly, that she's trying to clarify is that despite we have having a price increase in renewable energy, will the price be competitive? Will we have consumers that will want to renegotiate this for the long term to hire this renewable energy? I don't consider this a matter of concern in our contracts and in the market contracts in general. We have significant penalties to avoid this, what I would call an opportunistic way of acting. Perhaps the only thing we did not cover in terms of market and prices refers to the self-production schemes that we have observed in the market. And this is a system that cannot maintain itself through time because it eliminates the large consumers from the system and burdens the smaller consumers. We have seen this happening frequently in the market.
We have avoided becoming involved in that type of project. Now, if there is no regulatory approach to avoid this, we will have to end this. We will have to continue to have new plants, but of course, this has a negative impact because the sectoral charges will have to be paid for those who are less important and less able to do so in the system. Thank you, Sattamini, Gabriel, Guilherme. I will pose a question referring to regulation. What can we expect? We spoke a great deal about the need of streamlining and evolution of regulation. What can we expect from the regulatory framework, and which are the more relevant issues that should be a priority? I will begin answering.
The sector has been discussing this since 2017 when we began discussing the CP3, where we had a reconciliation of all the agents, the government and ANEEL distribution and transmission agents, and this was presented to public consultation. This is the base of the PL 1917 that is at the House of Representatives. We have two legal instruments that are being discussed, and the new regulatory framework, or at least the will, will be based on this. Keller, perhaps you could discuss what is part of these legislative tools. I would like to underscore three points that are important. One of them is opening. We have a regulated opening in the last few years, but we have further room for opening. This should happen in the coming years, and it is a very important aspect being addressed by these legislative tools.
We also have another important point, the establishment of prices. I think we generally observe that there is a significant problem in terms of setting forth prices. The third point, due to draft bills, and that will require specific regulation, something that will end up being very costly, and it is valuing generation. We can in Brazil absorb the creation of renewable energy. It will allow for greater flexibility in the system and will allow the operator to be in a better situation. This is not being remunerated, and we should find a way to do this. This new flexibility and the ability for a rapid response in terms of renewable energy is something that will have to be improved.
Another point that is part of these legal tools, and the government is working on this, is the end of subsidies to find the true price of these sources as we increase competitiveness. Subsidies should be discontinued as the subsidy we have for non-conventional renewable sources. I think we have addressed the fee of subsidy through this new transition that we see. We also have a discussion on solar energy. Another issue is production. This has the risk of growing significantly in the future, and this is a subsidy that should be dealt with by the government, not to become a barrier problem in the future. We do hope that the government will manifest itself in the coming months. Thank you. We are going to change gears and now speak with TAG. Looking forward, and it would be interesting to have a forecast of when this would be expected.
A question on the opportunity for hydrogen transportation. If this is something that TAG would want to do, and what do they have to do to be prepared for this? Excellent question. Rafael, a very difficult response to speak about deadlines for this. What I can say is that presently we are working, thinking of the future. When we think of decarbonization, the hydrogen will become the fuel for the future, and we have to use the present-day infrastructure to be able to grow, become more efficient, and transport other gases, not only hydrogen but biogas, biomethane. It's important for all transportation companies and infrastructure companies. We have significant support from ENGIE in Europe. This is something that has come to life there. Of course, there are limits in terms of the percentage of hydrogen that could be added to natural gas in the transportation network.
It's the famous blend, up to 5%, no problems, up to 10%. You require additional investment. Above this, the situation is more complex, and depending on the compression and pipelines, of course, what increases here is the operational risk. In terms of deadlines, it's very difficult to mention one, and we have agreements signed by ENGIE and the government of Bahia, the Sierra government also signing agreements to transport gas to Europe. We have a capacity for renewable fuel that is much greater than the demand in Brazil, and any surplus could be used for electrolysis and be used for hydrogen. It's very difficult to mention a deadline for this, but we are getting ready for this new scenario.
Yeah, it's very important to have your view, the view from TAG about that. Moving now towards the financial front, we received a question. Too many questions. Hang on a second.
Will it be possible for ENGIE to reconcile robust investments for growth with a significant dividend payout? Is there any chance that ENGIE will conduct a follow-on to have more equity capital and provide more strength for growth at a leverage level at around two times as it is the case now? We still have some room to grow debt. Our covenant sits at around 3.5 times net debt over EBITDA. We're now at the level of 2, as it was said by the person who asked the question. We have managed to grow, managed to invest more, and still pay out dividends at the 100% level for the past years. We'll continue to follow on that strategy until we understand that might be putting the company's capital structure at risk.
If we have a good opportunity and if we have reached our debt level, then I think that's very important for us, which is to maintain our rating. It could be AAA, or it could perhaps reduce the rating at a specific situation, but there is no expectation to have that rating reduced. Then, and only then, if we have a good opportunity or a big M&A chance, we might think about a capital increase. We are a listed company, that's why, so that we can have the flexibility. Of course, there are other advantages. That interaction that we have with shareholders and analysts, of course, that brings information to the company. It brings an external view, and that keeps us on our toes and looking at the future. I'll turn that over to Malta, who might have something to add to that.
If you do not, no problem. Not much to add, Sattamini. Anyway, just to reinforce our low leverage level, we still have, as you said, room to grow. Just as a reminder, Santo Agostinho, we financed the whole equity for the project. We expect to continue financing the equity. We have a very sound portfolio, and that balance is positive for a dividend payout policy. Dividend payout is linked to project viability and, of course, M&A potential possibilities. We also generate cash, and in the long run, we will be paying off debts and adjusting our debt level. We do not see a need in the mid to the short run. If the need arises, we will go to market. We want to have that flexibility, but no expectations around that today. Thank you, Malta. Thank you, Sattamini. We have a question from Francisco Nabarrete from Bradesco.
A good question. We won't have all the answers, I don't think, but it's important to listen to what you have to say about the acceleration of the regulated market migrating to the free market. How could we have a more balanced migration from the regulated market to the free market without overburdening the regulated market? We still pay for that security. The bills will take time to pass. Do you think that in the short run? Would you say that in the short run we could have a scenario where we'd have a capacity burden being levied on the free market to mitigate the burden on the regulated market consumers? That is a difficult question to answer. I'll turn it over to Keller, but the government is already operating on that front.
They're already auctioning capacities, and when they do that, they already create a market for ballast vis-à-vis energy. Keller, you are the expert. Try to predict what the future holds for that. There has been an important measure, those capacity auctions that you mentioned. The payment for infrastructure is already there. Somehow anticipating that ballast vis-à-vis energy issue. Secondly, as we see it, the bills will move forward at the lower houses. Of course, this year, the crisis dominated the agenda, but the impression I have is that the government does have the intention to move those projects, those bills forward. I do not expect that to take too long. While we wait, we have ways to circumvent that ballast vis-à-vis energy issue.
Now, in terms of the migration from the regulated environment to the free market, the free environment, this will generate an inventory of contracts that will need to be transferred to the free market. What can you say about that, Keller? As long as we do not have a solution for that, we won't see anything happening. There is a whole context with the heightened prices in the short term. Migration slows down, so that's structural. That can change at any moment. In all likelihood, there will be a greater difficulty of that migration. Maybe the low-voltage captive consumers will be retained in the regulated market for some more time so that some balance can be maintained. Yes, yes, that's possible. That's likely, as you said. Thank you. We are coming close to the end of our insight, ENGIE.
Those questions which were not answered during the event can be sent to our IR team using our website, engie.com.br/investors. Now I turn the floor back over to Eduardo Sattamini for his final remarks. Sattamini, over to you.
Hello, everyone. I'd like to thank you all, and thank you very much for participating, albeit virtually. It is very, very important for us to have the chance to convey our ideas, our messages in a very direct, straightforward way. That's why we made it a point of gathering all executive officers here with us, including Gustavo from TAG, to be here with us. This is an important part of our business. I'd like to leave a final message. First of all, a big thank you to the organizers of the event. Everything worked really well, well above the expectations. Congratulations to everyone.
A special thank you to all employees, all our associates for a difficult year, but a year where we once again overcame difficulties, delivered results, and we made things happen. I also wish you all a very healthy and safe year-end, and share with you an expectation of a great 2022. We will continue to deliver results and doing the best for the company and for our investors.