The creation of Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras (Eletrobras) was proposed in 1954 by President Getúlio Vargas. The Bill faced opposition and was only passed after seven years in the National Congress. The company officially started on June 11, 1962, in a meeting held at the national Council of Waters and Electric Power (Cnaee), at the Laranjeiras Palace, in Rio de Janeiro, with the presence of President João Goulart (photo).

Eletrobras’s role was fostering studies, construction projects and operation of generating plants, transmission lines and substations designed to provide electric power to the country. The new company started to decisively contribute to the expansion of electric power offer and development of the country.

Institutional reforms and privatizations in the 90’s caused the company to lose some of its functions and to have its profile changed. In this period, the company also started to operate, by legal and transitory order, in the distribution of electric power, through companies in the states of Alagoas, Piauí, Rondônia, Acre, Roraima e Amazonas.

In 2004, new regulation of the sector excluded Eletrobras from the National Privatization Program (PND). Currently, Eletrobras controls the Electric Power Research Center (Eletrobras Cepel) and the companies Eletrobras Chesf, Eletrobras Furnas, Eletrobras Eletrosul, Eletrobras Eletronorte, Eletrobras CGTEE, Eletrobras Eletronuclear, Eletrobras Distribution Acre, Eletrobras Amazonas Energia, Eletrobras Distribution Roraima, Eletrobras Distribution Rondônia, Eletrobras Distribution Piauí, Eletrobras Distribution Alagoas and Eletrobras Eletropar.

Present nationwide, Eletrobras has installed capacity to produce 39,453 MW, including 50% of the power of Itaipu plant belonging to Brasil, and has approximately 60,000 kilometers of transmission lines.