Brazil closed the first results of its new transmission network access scheme with 30.7 GW of projects enabled or authorized , after analyzing more than 43 GW of applications under the National Transmission System Access Policy (PNAST).
The balance, consolidated by the National Electric System Operator (ONS) , combines the transitional phase of the new regime with the first advances of the 1st Access Season of 2026 , which introduces a new logic to order the allocation of available capacity in the Basic Network.
Of the total unlocked, 19.7 GW correspond to the transitional stage of the PNAST , linked to applications covered by articles 10 and 12 of Decree No. 12,772/2025. In addition, there are another 11 GW of projects that were able to opt to participate in the first Access Season of the year.
“ Considering the transition phase and the partial results of Season 1, more than 30 GW of access to the Core Network has been made available ,” highlighted Marcio Rea, Director General of the ONS.
For the operator, the new mechanism seeks to address one of the main bottlenecks for new electricity projects: the availability and allocation of transmission capacity.
During the transitional phase , more than 180 Access Rulings have already been issued, related to approximately 9.82 GW in generation requests and 13.5 GW in consumption requests , according to the ONS.
The scheme has now begun to move forward on the projects that entered in the first Access Season.
Following the expression of interest phase, which concluded on September 11, 3.42 GW received indication for Direct Service and will move towards the issuance of the Preliminary Access Diagnosis (DPA).
But not all available capacity can be resolved in that way.
In São Paulo, network availability proved insufficient to meet the requests received, which will activate for the first time the Competitive Process planned within the new scheme.
Specifically, 451 MW of Transmission System Usage Amounts (MUST) associated with consumer projects will compete for only 228 MW of remaining capacity .
The restriction corresponds to product 2029+ and reaches busbars in the state of São Paulo limited by the subarea criterion.
The competitive stage will continue on October 6 and will mark one of the major changes introduced by the PNAST.
“This is a historic milestone: for the first time, the available margin will be allocated through a competitive process, with previously known rules and equal treatment among agents,” said Maurício de Souza , Director of IT, Agent Relations and Regulatory Affairs at the ONS.
The experience from this first cycle will also serve to adjust the next access seasons.
The mechanism seeks to provide a response to situations in which requests exceed the available electrical capacity at certain points in the network, preventing the allocation from depending exclusively on the order in which projects arrive.
The launch of the PNAST thus leaves two signals for the Brazilian market: on the one hand, more than 30 GW managed to advance in their access to the Basic Network ; on the other, transmission restrictions are beginning to be resolved under a scheme that incorporates direct competition between projects when the available capacity is not enough for everyone.