OREANDA-NEWS. MPX Energia announced that Thermal Power Plant Parnaiba I, located in the Municipality of Santo Antonio dos Lopes, in the state of Maranhao, received authorization from the National Agency for Electrical Energy (Aneel) to initiate commercial operation of the fourth turbine, with installed capacity of 169 MW. With the four 169 MW turbines in commercial operation, Thermal Power Plant Parnaiba I reaches its total installed capacity of 676 MW, only 20 months after the beginning of project implementation, thus sticking to the construction and investment schedules initially planned. Investment in this first phase is of approximately BRL 1.2 billion.

With the conclusion of the first phase of the Parnaiba Thermoelectric Complex, MPXs’ endeavors in commercial operation reach 1,420 MW of installed capacity. Besides Thermal Power Plant Parnaiba I, Thermal Power Plant Itaqui, also in Maranhao, and Thermal Power Plant Energia Pecem and Taua Solar Power Plant, in the state of Ceara, are generating energy for the National Interconnected System, contributing to the country’s energy security. MPX also operates a diesel fueled plant in Amapa, which can be added to these endeavors.

Fourth turbine

The fourth turbine of Parnaiba I started supplying energy to the National Interconnected System (SIN) on April 5, 2013, in test phase, generating approximately 19 thousand MWh in the referred period. With the approval of the Commercial Operation Declaration (DOC) of the fourth turbine, the plant will start being remunerated according to the terms of the Energy Commercialization in a Regulated Environment Agreement (CCEAR) secured in the 2008 A-5 energy auction.

The endeavor, a 70-30 partnership between MPX and Petra Energia S.A., commercialized an average 450 MW for a period of 15 years. The contract guarantees a minimum total annual revenue of BRL 421.2 million (reference date: October, 2012), indexed to the IPCA (Extended Consumer’s Price Index – IBGE) and, additionally, a variable revenue aimed at covering costs (fuel, operation and maintenance) incurred when the plant is dispatched by the National System Operator (ONS).

The natural gas used by Thermal Power Plant Parnaiba is supplied by the subsidiary company OGX Maranhao, a partnership established between MPX (33.3%) and OGX (66.6%). The commercial production of gas started in January, 2013, 16 months after the first production well was drilled in the Parnaiba Basin, and, with the operation of the fourth turbine of thermal power plant Parnaiba I, reached approximately 4.4 million cubic meters per day.

About the Parnaiba Thermal Power Complex

The Parnaiba Thermal Power Complex, located in the municipality of Santo Antonio dos Lopes, in the state of Maranhao, is a pioneering endeavor that integrates the production of natural gas to energy generation, with a license to reach up to 3,722 MW of installed capacity. MPX invests more than BRL 2.6 billion in the implementation of phases 1 and 2, which will become operational in 2014. A partnership between MPX (70%) and Petra Energia (30%), the endeavor generates approximately 2,300 direct jobs, 80% coming from the local workforce. The plant is supplied by the gas produced by OGX and MPX in the Parnaiba Basin.

MPX Energia S.A., a part of EBX Group, is a company with diversified energy projects and complementary businesses in electrical generation and exploration and production of natural gas in South America. The Company has a wide portfolio of thermal generation endeavors, which positions it strategically to become a leader in the private energy sector. MPX’s generating plants will also be the biggest consumers of the natural gas produced in the Company’s terrestrial blocks, which have estimated resources of more than 11 Tcf.