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Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais - CEMIG
CEMIG generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity and gas to customers in Brazil.
CEMIG is one of Brazil's biggest electricity companies, and it touches almost every part of the power chain. It runs hydroelectric dams and other generators that make electricity, strings up the high-voltage transmission lines that carry power across long distances, and operates the local distribution wires that bring electricity into homes and businesses. It also sells natural gas. For most people in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, CEMIG is simply the company whose name is on the power bill.
The distribution business is the heart of it. CEMIG holds the concession to deliver electricity to millions of customers across Minas Gerais, a large and populous state. Customers pay for every kilowatt-hour they use, and the company keeps a slice of that money after paying for the power itself and covering its costs. This is a steady, predictable business because everyone needs electricity, but it is also tightly regulated: a government agency sets the rates, so CEMIG cannot simply charge whatever it likes when costs rise. The generation and transmission sides work differently. CEMIG sells power from its own plants, much of it hydroelectric, into Brazil's wholesale market and through contracts, and it earns regulated fees for letting other companies' electricity flow across its transmission lines. Hydro power is cheap to run once the dams are built, but it depends on rainfall, and dry years can hurt both output and profits. The company's gas business adds another steady stream of revenue from customers who need fuel for heating, cooking, and industry.
CEMIG is controlled by the state government of Minas Gerais, which gives it political weight but also creates tension: the state has leaned on the company for dividends, and the company carries a heavy debt load and big obligations to pay for pensions and legal settlements. That mix of stable regulated cash flow and political and financial baggage is the central story for anyone weighing the stock.
Saved answer · last researched 12 Nov 2026