Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Curitiba, COGECOM presents itself as the first distributed generation cooperative in the country. Currently, the cooperative manages 480 MW in power plants and serves more than 60 consumer units, operating in the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Goiás, and São Paulo.
In 2025, COGECOM invested approximately R$ 5 million in technology and operational infrastructure, and ended the year with a 40% growth in its customer base. For 2026, the expectation is to expand this base by 38%, in addition to incorporating an additional 20 MW in new power plants in the first half of the year.
O Canal Solar spoke with Rafael Fontes, Commercial Manager of the cooperative, who reviews a year marked by regulatory uncertainties, details the efficiency gains achieved through the use of artificial intelligence, and discusses the outlook for 2026. Check out the main excerpts from the interview.
To begin, how was the year 2025 for COGECOM?
It was a fantastic year for us. Even in the face of many uncertainties and quite complex regulatory movements, we managed to grow and achieve what we had projected, not only in terms of numbers, but mainly in business building, customization, and improvement of our processes.
Regulatory uncertainties forced us to adapt our products, business flows, partnerships, and the cooperative's own structure. This ended up being an opportunity. We greatly improved our understanding of cooperativism, business partnerships, and building a cooperative ecosystem. It was, in fact, an incredible year.
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What numbers help to give substance to this result?
We ended the year with approximately 480 MW of installed capacity under management, with a monthly generation of close to 86 GWh, within the forecast. We reached 60 active consumer units, distributed across eight states and served by 12 concessionaires.
This volume brought an enormous demand for processing and management. Our operating system needed to be revised several times throughout the year. Today it is much more robust for energy capture, processing, and management. This provides security not only for customers, but also for investors and business partners.
Furthermore, there has been an important shift in perspective: we have come to treat solar energy not only as a technological solution, but as an instrument for economic inclusion. Distributed generation has always played this role, but in 2025 it began to be treated as an economic asset to strengthen cooperative members, investors, and partners.
What growth do these 60 customers represent compared to previous years?
We had a growth target of around 40% in our active customer base, and we achieved 40,2%. The 60 active consumer units accurately reflect this growth. We also have units undergoing migration, disconnection, or segment transition processes, which remain in the base but are not yet counted as active.
And in terms of consumption?
Monthly consumption is around 70 to 72 GWh. We always work with a small generation surplus to guarantee service during peak times. We operate in eight states and serve everyone from large pharmacy chains, restaurants, and retail outlets to smaller consumers.
In 2025, we also expanded our operations to high-voltage customers. In addition to solar, we have hydroelectric and thermal sources, which allows for compensation even during peak hours.
How many plants are currently managed by the cooperative?
There are approximately 1.600 active power plants. In terms of quantity, roughly 80% are solar, and the other 20% are divided between hydroelectric and thermal plants. In terms of generation, solar accounts for around 60%, while hydroelectric and thermal plants have more continuous production and larger volumes.
What fuels do thermal power plants use?
Primarily biomass, wood waste, wood chips. We have two biogas plants, but their performance is still limited. On a large scale, biogas still faces significant technical challenges.
You mentioned regulatory uncertainties. Could you elaborate?
Provisional Measures 1300 and 1304 raised many questions. There were sensitive points regarding compensation, tariffs, subsidies, and the early opening of the market. This directly affects investors, cooperative members, and the predictability of contracts.
Another critical point is the capacity of the distribution network. Distributed generation is growing rapidly – with projections of up to 64 GW by 2030 – and the network is not yet prepared. There is a lack of capacity, processes, and agents to handle allocation lists, compensations, and operations. All of this makes scalability a major challenge.
With the Provisional Measures moving forward, how do you envision 2026?
Provisional Measure 1304 is still causing concern while it awaits the full approval process. There is a clear deficit in investments in the distribution network, and this needs to be addressed.
Even so, 2026 is a crucial year for us. The focus is on further strengthening the cooperative ecosystem, connecting members, investors, and business partners. Energy has ceased to be merely an economic commodity and has become a driver of economic development.
Is there an expectation of growth in the number of clients?
Yes. Our priority is customer retention and education. We invest heavily in raising awareness about energy consumption, production, and its economic impact. We expect to grow by approximately 38%, varying between 35% and 38% depending on the state, with possible expansion into São Paulo.
Should you add new plants to the management?
We have connection contracts until 2032, which automatically come into effect as the plants are connected. Even with uncertainties such as the B line and TUSD (Transmission System Usage Tariff), the solar market continued to grow, driven by reduced equipment and logistics costs. We should be able to confidently add around 20 MW of power in the first half of the year.
How has the profile of cooperative members evolved over the years?
We have more individual taxpayer registration numbers (CPF), but corporate taxpayer registration numbers (CNPJ) account for the largest volume of consumption. In recent years, there has been a natural trend of large clients seeking self-production, the free market, or their own solutions, which makes this profile scarcer.
The market, and we along with it, is moving towards smaller consumers, especially residential ones. This demands more automation, speed, and operational security. By 2025, we had a very large influx of low-consumption customers, while maintaining our large customer base.
Which sectors stand out among CNPJ (Brazilian corporate tax ID) clients?
It's quite varied: technology, fuels, food, retail, pharmaceuticals, hotels, condominiums, accounting, bakeries, supermarkets. We have over 180 registered CNAEs (National Classification of Economic Activities). Pharmacies, for example, represent hundreds of units for a single CNPJ (Brazilian taxpayer identification number).
How much have you invested in improving management?
Between 2023 and 2024, we invested several million reais in the development of our software. In 2025, approximately R$ 5 million was invested, including the platform, developers, and complementary services.
Despite automation, we maintain a strongly humanized approach to customer service. We have over 120 people dedicated to customer experience. We tried full automation in the past, but it didn't work. Customers want to talk to people.
And what is the role of artificial intelligence?
A IA It plays a huge role in our business. AI analyzes allocation lists, invoices, identifies compensation and taxation errors, handles pre-sales, pre-sales, and even closing deals in some channels. The biggest gains have been in billing, invoicing, and production projections. It allows us to identify errors quickly and make much faster decisions.
How are you preparing for the tax reform?
Since the announcement, we have adapted our billing, receipt, and invoice issuing systems. Rental is now treated as a taxable service, requiring profound changes to invoice layouts, payment platforms, and internal controls. Thankfully, there is a transition period.
How does standardizing invoices by distributors help the distributed generation business?
For us, it's excellent. We've always advocated for this. Internally, we've already created unique identifiers. With official standardization, the expectation is for greater organization. The concern is the transition period, to avoid billing and compensation errors, but in the medium term it's a huge step forward.
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