O hidronegócio em questão : empoderamento dos atores regionais no contexto da descentralização da geração e gestão da energia elétrica.

Abstract

The present doctoral dissertation analyzes the energy matrix in the western region of Santa Catarina, as a field of dispute in the production and distribution of electricity which involves power relations in the territory. In the age of technology and information, the availability of electricity is vital for development. The control of this important sector is the subject of conflicts between the actors linked to hydro business and decentralized production. The central question that guided the research was to analyze how the main actors of the hydro business and the decentralized generation of energy in the western region of Santa Catarina articulate social skills, aiming at their participation in the dispute of social, cultural, economic and symbolic capital present in the production field and distribution of electricity. To understand this dynamic we adopted Fligstein's (2001) perspective of the new economic sociology, which offers important tools for the study of the relationship between territory and social forces, in which two fields needs to be highlighted: the nature of cooperation and capital values. The research object was the main actors related to the hydro business in the western region of Santa Catarina, such as Foz do Chapecó HPP, Itá HPP and Quebra Queixo HPP and the actors that act in the decentralized generation, such as electrification cooperatives, rural producers, foundations, universities, companies and small and medium size companies linked to photovoltaic power generation, HPPs, CGHs and biodigesters. We found that the agents linked to the decentralized process of electric power generation have been strengthened through decentralized generation initiatives, building new power relations and positively interfering in the regional development process. This reality has placed the western region of Santa Catarina in a leading position in the construction of new organizational, cooperation, articulation, and promotion of regional development processes. However, the process of energy generation and distribution as a strategic sector is also a “good business”, becoming a subject of dispute between the actors of the region. Therefore, understanding and analyzing the strategies and skills of the actors involved in this dispute, aiming to build hegemony in the territory, is the challenge we assumed in this research.