By Brazil Stock Guide – Âmbar Energia has secured a legal victory after a federal judge overturned a lower court ruling that had suspeded operations at its Candiota III coal-fired power plant and the adjacent coal mine in Rio Grande do Sul, according to Valor Econômico. Both facilities are operated by Ambar, part of the J&F group owned by the Batista brothers, and had faced shutdown orders due to questions over environmental licenses issued by Brazil’s federal environmental agency Ibama and the state regulator Fepam.
The ruling by federal judge Marcos Roberto Araújo dos Santos declared the lower court’s decision “entirely unfounded,” noting that it violated the separation of powers, imposed requirements not supported by law, and disregarded the judiciary’s lack of technical competence to intervene in Brazil’s national power system.
In a statement, Âmbar stressed that it holds all the licenses required to operate, including environmental permits. The company warned that halting operations would generate severe financial and social consequences. “Âmbar Energia, which operates in full compliance with current legislation and maintains all necessary licenses, including environmental ones, based its request on the risk of serious losses if operations are halted, as this would significantly reduce revenues, compromise national energy supply, threaten thousands of jobs and make it difficult to pay taxes totaling tens of millions of reais per month,” the company said.
The company emphasized that with water levels in hydroelectric reservoirs falling during the second half of the year, coal-fired power plants play a critical role in securing reliable energy supply.
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