# Historic CHESF Name Disappears as Axia Energia Nordeste Rebrands Utility

*The company created under Getúlio Vargas to electrify Brazil’s Northeast retires its name after eight decades, as the former Eletrobras subsidiary adopts a new corporate identity.*

- Published: 2026-03-03
- Updated: 2026-03-04
- Section: Insights
- Tags: Axia Energia Nordeste, blue chip, Brazil Electricity Sector, Brazil power utilities, CHESF, eletrobras privatization, Getulio Vargas industrial policy, Sao Francisco River hydroelectric
- URL: https://brazilstockguide.com/insights/historic-chesf-name-disappears-as-axia-energia-nordeste-rebrands-utility/

![](https://i0.wp.com/brazilstockguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Chesf.png?fit=243%2C141&ssl=1)

**By Brazil Stock Guide –** One of the most historic names in Brazil’s electricity sector is coming to an end. The **Companhia Hidroelétrica do São Francisco (CHESF)** formally changed its corporate name to **Axia Energia Nordeste S.A.**, retiring a brand created during the **Getúlio Vargas era** that for decades symbolized the federal government’s strategy to industrialize and electrify the Northeast.

The change was approved in an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on March 3. The company said its **CNPJ, legal status and operations remain unchanged**, meaning the move represents a corporate rebranding rather than a structural transformation. Still, the disappearance of the CHESF name closes a chapter that began more than 80 years ago, when Brazil relied heavily on state-led infrastructure projects to drive economic development.

**Origins in the Vargas Industrial State**

The idea for CHESF dates back to **1944**, when Pernambuco agronomist and then Agriculture Minister **Apolônio Sales**, serving in the government of **President Getúlio Vargas**, proposed creating a federal company to harness the hydroelectric potential of the **São Francisco River**. The centerpiece of the plan was the construction of a major power plant in **Paulo Afonso**, envisioned as a catalyst for economic development across Brazil’s Northeast.

The company was formally created during the **Estado Novo regime** through **Decree-Law No. 8,031 of October 3, 1945**, signed by Vargas. It later held its first shareholders’ meeting in **March 1948**, becoming **Brazil’s first public electricity company**.

**Electrifying the Northeast**

CHESF became a cornerstone of Brazil’s hydroelectric expansion in the Northeast. In **1955**, the company inaugurated the **Paulo Afonso I hydroelectric plant**, one of the first major power projects in the region. During the restructuring of Brazil’s electricity sector in the **1960s**, CHESF became a subsidiary of **Eletrobras**, the federal power holding company linked to the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

**Southern company**

A similar move is also taking place elsewhere in the group. In a separate decision approved the same day, the **Companhia de Geração e Transmissão de Energia Elétrica do Sul do Brasil S.A.**, historically known as **Eletrosul**, also changed its corporate name to **Axia Energia Sul S.A.**

Founded in **1968** and authorized to operate in **1969**, Eletrosul was created as a subsidiary of Eletrobras to expand electricity generation and transmission across southern Brazil. For decades, the company played a key role in developing the regional power grid in the states of **Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul**.

**A New Era After Privatization**

The retirement of the CHESF and Eletrosul name reflects the profound changes in Brazil’s power sector following the **privatization of Eletrobras in 2022**, carried out during the government of former President **Jair Bolsonaro**. The process reduced the federal government’s stake and transformed the company into a widely held corporation with private investors.

Within this new structure, subsidiaries have increasingly been repositioned under new corporate identities. The adoption of **Axia Energia Nordeste** signals a shift away from legacy state-linked branding toward a name aligned with a broader private-sector energy platform.

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Source: Brazil Stock Guide, https://brazilstockguide.com/insights/historic-chesf-name-disappears-as-axia-energia-nordeste-rebrands-utility/