EBR - Amended Eletrobras privatization bill now too costly author says

The bill to privatize Eletrobras ([[EBR]] +1.1%) has advanced to Brazil's Senate, but its original sponsor tells Reuters that amendments have warped the legislation to the point where it is no longer worth enacting.Changes made in the lower house would require the government to back construction of 6 GW in new natural gas-fired power plants, which could add to pollution and power rates and thus defeat the purpose of modernizing the electricity sector to make it more competitive and affordable, according to Paulo Pedrosa, who wrote the original privatization bill in 2016."In its present shape, this bill is not worth enacting... The costs will exceed the benefits," says Pedrosa, a former deputy minister of mines and energy.The Mines and Energy Ministry said last week it still supported the bill after Brazil's lower house voted its approval.

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Amended Eletrobras privatization bill now too costly, author says