The NTS has halted new financial contributions and plans to sue the ANP after the agency determined that the asset base of the Southeast Grid is worth zero.
The Nova Transportadora do Sudeste (NTS) responded firmly to the recent decision by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) regarding the valuation of the regulatory asset base (BRA). The operator, controlled by a Brookfield fund, announced a suspension of new investments and a review of ongoing projects, citing a deep legal uncertainty in the gas sector.
The impasse centers on the application of the Recovered Capital Method (RCM), which led the ANP to conclude that the BRA of the Southeast Grid is already fully amortized, assigning it a zero value for new tariff calculations. The decision severely impacted the company’s planning, and it now signals the possibility of pursuing judicial remedies if administrative negotiations do not progress.
Regulatory conflict and financial risks
For NTS, the regulator’s stance breaks with the market’s historical predictability. The company argues that the ANP is introducing retrospective criteria that do not align with the expected returns on already made investments.
In the company’s view, the approach adopted by the ANP in the decision breaks with the applicable regulatory framework and the sector’s historical regulatory precedents by introducing new rules, assumptions, and criteria for determining the asset base and applying them retrospectively to investments already made.
Beyond the immediate halt of spending, the company issued a warning about its financial future. NTS projects that if the methodology is maintained and replicated in other legacy contracts maturing through 2030, the ability to meet financial commitments could be severely compromised. The company, however, stresses that the immediate impact is mitigated by the fact that this is a one‑off decision concerning the Southeast Grid.
Impacts on the Gas Market
The move by NTS reflects a broader tension involving other companies in the sector, such as TAG, which is also facing the application of RCM. The issue is already being litigated by the Association of Natural Gas Pipeline Transport Companies (ATGás), which is seeking a resolution from the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) regarding the controversy.
Regulatory uncertainty arises at a time of transition within the ANP, with the appointment of Amanda Duarte Gondim as acting director. While the sector awaits further developments, the suspension of projects by NTS highlights the need for a smoother dialogue between the government and transportation infrastructure operators to avoid bottlenecks in expanding Brazil’s gas network.