The Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy has issued an urgent call for a federal cash injection to prevent Eletronuclear, the state-owned operator of the country’s nuclear plants, from collapsing financially. The company, which has been struggling to sustain the long-delayed Angra 3 project in Rio de Janeiro, faces mounting debts and a looming liquidity crisis.
A Deepening Financial Crisis
In a letter sent on September 29, Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira warned that all investments allocated to Angra 3 were stripped from the 2026 federal budget. Without emergency support, the company cannot maintain critical equipment, settle debts, or meet its commitments to the electricity sector’s regulatory funds.
Internal documents reviewed by Reuters indicate Eletronuclear urgently requires 1.4 billion reais (about $260 million) to avoid collapse as early as November. The company also carries 570 million reais in short-term liabilities due in December, owed to lenders including Banco ABC and BTG. A default could trigger a chain reaction, leaving the company unable to meet obligations with BNDES, Caixa Econômica Federal, and Santander.
The financial strain has already frozen a planned 2.4 billion reais bond issuance meant to extend the operating life of Angra 1 for another two decades. Under the proposed structure, Eletrobras would have purchased the bonds with the option to convert them into shares, but only if Brasília guaranteed federal backing to preserve state control of the nuclear company.
Earlier in August, ENBPar—the holding company overseeing Eletronuclear—requested the Finance Ministry to call a shareholders’ assembly to advance the plan. Yet the process has stalled, deepening uncertainty over the company’s future. Without extraordinary liquidity measures, Eletronuclear risks insolvency before the end of 2025, raising questions about the stability of Brazil’s nuclear energy strategy.