The electric-power market is experiencing growth on the order of 4.5% per year, and should top the 100,000 MW mark by 2008. Mid-term governmental planning foresees the need for investments of the order of R$ 6 to 7 billion/year to expand the Brazilian energy matrix, to meet the demand from the consumer market.

In the future, certain changes shall occur in the structure of energy investments, including the deployment of natural gas thermoelectric plants, which are built faster and require lower investment than hydro power plants. On the other hand, energy imports should increase from Argentina, Venezuela and Bolivia; in addition to the expansion of the interconnection  between the transmission networks of the North and South of Brazil, which shall require greater investments in the transmission grid.

The major business opportunities in the domestic energy market are tied to the definition of new generation enterprises to be undertaken by private initiative and the construction of transmission lines, as well as the privatization of assets in the distribution and generation systems. Another area deserving attention is that of the universal access to isolated communities in the Northern Region of Brazil and the rural areas in general, which should be concluded by 2005.

The Brazilian power system presents certain peculiarities, such as very long transmission lines and a power-generation park that is predominantly fed by hydraulic sources. The consumer market (47.2 million customers) is concentrated in the South and Southeastern Regions, where most of the industry is located. The Northern Region is served mainly by small power plants, the majority being composed of diesel-oil thermoelectric plants.

Over the last two decades, power consumption has risen much faster than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the result of demographic growth concentrated in urban areas, efforts to increase power supply and the modernization of the economy.

Residential, commercial and rural-consumer classes made the greatest gains, whilst the industrial segment experienced lower growth, mainly due to the utilization of more efficient technologies in the end use of the electricity, in conjunction with rationing measures related to consumption placed in practice particularly in the 1990s.