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The Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL) launched a public consultation on the revision of the Procedures of the Program on RDI (PROPDI, in the Portuguese acronym), as a means to improve innovation instruments related to RDI mandatory investments.


Public Consultation n.º 69/2021 and Public Audience n.º 29/2021 from the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL) seeks to collect public contributions on the revision of the Procedures of the Program on Research, Development, and Innovation (PROPDI, in the Portuguese acronym), applicable to operators with mandatory RDI investment expenditures under Law n.º 9.991/2000.

The revision is designed to incorporate innovation instruments, in light of recent legal developments, as the current state of the program is perceived by ANEEL to direct less attention to innovation in comparison to research and development. The current rules of the PROPDI are provided by Normative Resolution n.º 754/2016, which the proposal intends to replace as of 2023.

The proposal includes new program guidelines on innovation and a new module on innovation instruments, through which mandatory RDI investment expenditures may be carried out. The innovation instruments include startups (as defined by its new legal framework, see more in the 25th edition of the Regulatory Report), specific types of private investment funds (FIPs, in the Portuguese acronym), and joint incentivized projects with the Brazilian Company of Research and Industrial Innovation (EMBRAPII).

Additionally, the proposal includes the elaboration by ANEEL of a Four-Year Strategic Innovation Plan (“PEQul”), with the support and participation of the electricity sector operators. The PEQul is intended as a medium-to-long-term strategic guide for the accomplishment of innovation targets.

Contributions can be submitted to specific e-mail addresses listed on ANEEL’s website until December 20. A public hearing is scheduled for December 15. The draft normative resolution and PROPDI rules, as well as a technical note, are available on that ANTT’s website.