By Brazil Stock Guide – Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais, or Cemig, will work with gas distributor Gasmig to expand pipeline infrastructure in Minas Gerais, according to Alexandre Ramos Peixoto, who took over as the utility’s chief executive on Monday (11).
The information was reported by Valor Econômico. Ramos replaced Reynaldo Passanezi as CEO of Cemig, whose shares trade in São Paulo under CMIG3 and CMIG4 and in New York as CIG and CIG.C, according to the company’s investor relations website.
The new management’s priorities include expanding three-phase power networks across the interior of Minas Gerais, where about 300,000 kilometers of monophase lines remain in operation. The shift is expected to improve the quality of electricity supply, particularly in rural areas.
Minas Gerais Governor Mateus Simões said Cemig must treat changes in Brazil’s power market as a business opportunity, especially as the country moves toward a broader opening of the low-voltage market.
“We must be able to see the opening of the low-voltage market as an opportunity, because of our client portfolio; to effectively treat our client as the company’s biggest asset. We must lead the transformation of Minas Gerais’ economy toward a green economy, with renewable sources that Cemig itself offers,” Simões said.
The governor also pointed to Gasmig as a strategic asset for the state-controlled utility. Gasmig is the natural gas distributor in Minas Gerais and is controlled by Cemig.
“And there is a fourth point to be considered, which is the importance of Cemig as the controlling company of Gasmig. One of the challenges is the expansion of gas in southern Minas Gerais and the Triângulo Mineiro region,” Simões said.
Ramos said the company is entering a period of deep structural change in the energy industry, driven by the energy transition, digitalization, decentralized generation and a more active role for consumers.
“We are going through structural transformations that affect the dynamics and functioning of the market,” Ramos said.
He cited the full opening of Brazil’s energy market, climate-related challenges, the ongoing energy transition and the regulation of certification markets as issues that will reshape Cemig’s role in the coming years.
Energy and Mines Minister Alexandre Silveira praised Ramos’ appointment in a social media post, calling him a technical and experienced executive.
“He is a technical, experienced, qualified and very well-prepared name for the position, having played a major role at CCEE, in our ecosystem, with strong dialogue with the entire team at the Ministry of Mines and Energy,” Silveira said.
“We achieved, over the past three years, major results by advancing the restructuring of the country’s energy sector, mainly through the reform of the electricity sector that we promoted after so many years,” the minister added.
Simões said Ramos was chosen because of his long history with Cemig and his experience in the energy industry. The executive is the son of former Cemig employees and built much of his career inside the company.
A mechanical engineer, Ramos joined Cemig in 1989 and spent 36 years at the utility, rising to director of regulation and institutional relations. In that role, he coordinated with the Ministry of Mines and Energy on emergency regulatory measures during the Covid-19 pandemic, which were later adopted nationwide.
Ramos has also worked at Aneel, Brazil’s electricity regulator, the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the Energy Research Office, known as EPE. Since 2003, he had chaired the board of directors of the Electric Energy Trading Chamber, or CCEE.
Cemig’s board elected Ramos on Thursday (7). He takes over with a mandate to continue the company’s modernization strategy and investment plan, which totals 70 billion reais through 2030.
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