Agnes da Costa, a ministry of mines and energy veteran, advocate for inter-agency collaboration and the energy transition, has joined Brazilian power regulator Aneel's board of directors.
Da Costa joining the five-member board marks the end of a period of interim directors that took place in 2022 and coincides with the beginning of the new federal administration, which will take office on 1 January. All five Aneel directors' terms started in 2022 and will end between 2024-2028, one every year.
Da Costa, the board's only woman and only the fourth to ever occupy the position in Aneel's 25 years of existence, points to a technical decision-making process less driven by party politics that benefits the group rather than individuals.
Da Costa is a strong advocate for alternative energy sources, coordinating the managing committee of the national hydrogen program, created in August to structure Brazil's hydrogen economy.
She is also seen as a supporter of entrepreneurial activities, saying in her inauguration ceremony on 5 December that "Profit maximization is not a curse word."
Da Costa's balance between collaborative public entities and supporting a pro-business environment for investment has won her praise from her bosses, former mines and energy ministers and vice-ministers. Four of them were present at her inauguration, including Adolfo Sachsida, who she is replacing. Having onstage with her both outgoing Sachsida and former vice-minister Nelson Hubner, who was president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's vice-minister in his previous term, is seen as an example of her nonpartisan credentials.
Gaining the power sector's trust will be one of her main challenges in the new seat, Da Costa said. The sector must come together to allow the regulator to do its job, she said, and stop asking congress to change power laws to benefit specific companies or parts of the industry, a practice that became commonplace in Brazil.
"Prioritizing the individual against the collective cannot thrive," she said. "Decisions must be made on behalf of public interest."
Aneel's board will face great tasks in the next few years, such as finding a way to share costs more evenly among power sector groups, reducing the number of additions put on regulations and laws to benefit specific groups, and ongoing legal fights over those benefits, Sachsida said.
