EDP and government of Espírito Santo announce investments for the state

By EDP

January 30, 2023

This is a machine translation of the press release originally published in Portuguese.

EDP, a company that operates throughout the Brazilian electricity sector chain, and the government of the state of Espírito Santo announced this Monday, the 30th, investments in improvements, strengthening of the energy distribution network and customer service, implementation of Distributed Solar Generation plants, incentive program for energy transition and social projects focused, especially, on education. In the distribution segment alone, the company projects an investment of approximately R＄ 4 billion from 2020 to 2025. The ceremony also marked the official launch of SENDI 2023, an event that expects to bring more than 3,000 people to Espírito Santo in November, and impact revenue generation and tourism in the state.

The presentation ceremony of these actions took place at Palácio Anchieta, seat of the state government, and was attended by the Governor, Renato Casagrande, the CEO of EDP Brasil, João Marques da Cruz, the mayor of Serra, Sérgio Vidigal, the president of Findes, Cris Samorini, the superintendent director of Sebrae ES, Pedro Rigo, UNICEF coordinator in the Southeast region, Luciana Phebo, directors of EDP, authorities and businessmen.

“Considering all businesses, EDP invests approximately R＄ 1 billion each year in the state of Espírito Santo, an amount that demonstrates the importance of the state for the company. We are proud of the partnership we built with the state government and for providing the people of Espírito Santo with a secure distribution network and high quality energy. But we go beyond that, we want to accelerate the energy transition through Distributed Solar Generation that allows companies to use our renewable and sustainable energy to develop their businesses. In addition to the ESG agenda that we announced today and that always guides our activities, we will bring SENDI to Espírito Santo, an event that intends to discuss the evolution of the electricity sector and also promote tourism in the state”, says the CEO of EDP Brasil, João Marques da Cross.

Solar Digital

During the event, in partnership with Sebrae, the Solar Digital Program was launched, which aims to offer benefits, tools and possibilities within the portfolio of EDP services and products to make the energy transition guidelines tangible, looking at practical solutions and assisting companies in portability to clean energy, increasing the competitiveness of small businesses in Espírito Santo.

The Program, which will be the first signed in the country, will offer exclusive commercial benefits to members of the respective institutions for Solar Digital, Mercado Livre Atacadista and Retail products. In addition to relying on EDP's consultancy in assessing which energy product best fits the customer's reality.

One of the pillars of EDP is the energy transition, through solar energy: clean and accessible. In the Distributed Generation solar segment alone, R＄ 225 million will be injected into the State of Espírito Santo by the end of 2023, with the development of more than 46 MWp, part already in operation and construction, of which 26 MWp will be destined to shared generation plants , which can serve small and medium-sized companies.

Energy distribution

Improving the quality of electricity supply, EDP signed the service order for the construction of two substations in the municipality of Serra, with an investment of R＄ 50 million. The developments will benefit around 100,000 inhabitants of the municipalities of Serra and Fundão.

The substations that will be built, called New Zealand and New Almeida, were planned to expand the energy supply capacity and ensure economic growth, even supporting the expansion of industrial and tourist activity in the regions.

EDP is making a record investment of approximately R＄ 4 billion in the State between 2020 and 2025. This is practically double what was invested between 2016 and 2020.

The contribution is focused on expanding the network, preparing the electrical system for the development of the 70 cities in the area of operation; operational improvements; loss reduction, such as combating energy theft; investment in digitization and customer service. For this, the Company understands that a safe, reliable, monitored and flexible distribution network is necessary.

SENDI 2023

Between November 7th and 10th, 2023, EDP and the Brazilian Association of Electricity Distributors (Abradee), will hold the National Seminar on Electricity Distribution (SENDI). The event, which takes place every two years, will take place for the first time in Espírito Santo.

SENDI is the largest discussion forum in the Brazilian electricity sector and aims to promote the exchange of experiences among electricity distributors, fostering ideas for the development of the quality of services provided.

In addition to lectures and panels, SENDI has a diverse program, with emphasis on technical topics. It is also at the seminar that the National Electricians Rodeo takes place, a competition between professionals in the area from all over the country, who demonstrate the performance of their daily tasks, disseminating safe and innovative practices to all concessionaires in Brazil.

Social investments

Through the EDP Institute, in partnership with the state government and Unicef, the company intends to invest R＄ 3 million over the next 3 years in the Active School Search (BAE) program for the municipalities of Espírito Santo.

The initiative supports cities in identifying, registering, controlling and monitoring children and adolescents who are out of school or at risk of dropping out. Through BAE, municipalities and states have concrete data that will make it possible to plan, develop and implement public policies that contribute to guaranteeing the rights of girls and boys.

In Espírito Santo, the objective of the program is to monitor approximately 2,000 children and adolescents who have dropped out of school and are re-enrolled, in addition to mobilizing and training 1,000 health, education and social assistance professionals.

During the event, EDP launched the stamp celebrating 15 years of Instituto EDP in Brazil. During its activities, the institute has already invested more than R＄ 197 million in 635 social projects, benefiting more than 4.3 million people directly in projects aimed at education, art, sport, income generation, inclusion and diversity.

In Espírito Santo, the EDP Institute's investments amount to R＄ 40 million in 240 supported projects, which benefited around 170 thousand people in the municipalities of EDP's concession area in the state.

living wage

EDP joined the Living Wage Movement, which is part of the UN Global Compact (United Nations). Upon joining, the company undertakes to guarantee a living wage to 100% of its employees, in addition to proposing to engage and encourage the supplier and supply chain in this cause.

The objective is to ensure that all company employees receive a living wage, the calculation of which is based on personalized studies developed for each company, which consider different realities and factors, such as region, basic and healthy diet, expenses, minimum housing standard, wages and bonuses, among others, with the objective of reflecting the local cost of living of employees in each region of Brazil. The initiative is directly related to Sustainable Development Goal 8, decent work and economic growth.

After the diagnostic stage, that is, the analysis of the remuneration currently offered to employees according to the calculation methodology of the Living Salary Movement, it will be possible to arrive at indicators. If a need for salary adjustment is identified, an action plan will be prepared to be completed by 2030.