Machado Meyer adds Valéria Rosa as partner in energy, infrastructure and public law litigation

Machado Meyer adds Valéria Rosa as partner in energy, infrastructure and public law litigation

Valéria Rosa joins Machado Meyer from LCFC Advogados. She previously worked in the electricity sector with Leite, Tosto e Barros Advogados and has led a practice specialising in electric power.

Machado Meyer Advogados announced on 12 November that Valéria Rosa had joined as a partner in energy, infrastructure and public law litigation in São Paulo. Her arrival brings the Brazilian firm’s partner count to 114 and strengthens its advice on administrative and judicial disputes and regulatory matters in the electricity sector.

Rosa has more than 15 years of experience advising companies on their dealings with the Brazilian public administration. Her work covers both administrative and regulatory law advice and representation in administrative and judicial proceedings. She has also worked on matters of broad significance to the electricity sector.

Experience in the electricity sector

Before joining Machado Meyer, Rosa was a partner at LCFC Advogados, where she worked on matters before Brazil’s National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL). Her experience in the sector includes work with Leite, Tosto e Barros Advogados, whose magazine published her analysis of the role of renewable energy in reducing emissions in 2019. During her career, she helped establish a practice dedicated to electric power and later took over its leadership.

In the announcement of the appointment, Tito Amaral de Andrade, managing partner of Machado Meyer, said the energy and infrastructure sectors were undergoing a period of transformation, with new investment opportunities and increasingly complex matters. He said the appointment expands the firm’s capacity to handle disputes and regulatory matters in both sectors and facilitates collaboration between its different practice areas. Rosa said that this integration would enable the firm to handle business matters requiring the combined work of several specialities.

Brazil prepares its first large-scale battery auctions

The appointment coincides with the opening of a new investment segment in Brazil’s electricity market. ANEEL has approved two capacity reserve tenders to procure power from battery storage systems. The auctions are scheduled for 2 and 4 December 2026.

The contracts will run for 15 years, with service scheduled to begin on 1 August 2028. One of the tenders sets local content requirements for equipment. The tender documents also establish bid and performance guarantees and provide for fixed annual remuneration that may be adjusted according to the performance of the facilities. These conditions affect supplier selection, consortium structures and project financing.

For 30 April 2027, ANEEL also plans a transmission auction that would include a battery system for the first time in this type of tender. The lots include a project with 100 MW of power and 200 MWh of storage capacity for the Cruzeiro do Sul substation in the state of Acre. Estimated investment for the transmission auction as a whole amounts to 12.9 billion reais.

Education and academic activity

Rosa graduated in law from the Universidade Federal da Bahia in 2012, specialised in administrative law at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo in 2018 and obtained a master’s degree in regulatory law from the Fundação Getulio Vargasin Rio de Janeiro in 2024. She also completed programmes in business and in communication and culture at the University of California, San Diego.

She is a lecturer, speaker and author of articles and books on the electricity sector. She has coordinated courses for the Instituto Brasileiro de Estudos do Direito da Energia (IBDE), a Brazilian energy law institute, including one on crisis management in the electricity sector. Her additional training covers the law governing regulatory agencies and insurance and guarantees for infrastructure projects.

Key facts

• Appointment. Valéria Rosa joins Machado Meyer Advogados in São Paulo as a partner in energy, infrastructure and public law litigation.
• Previous roles. She was a partner at LCFC Advogados and previously worked with Leite, Tosto e Barros Advogados on electricity sector matters.
• Specialisation. Electricity regulation, administrative disputes before ANEEL and court litigation.
• Team. Machado Meyer now has 114 partners.
• Sector context. Brazil plans to hold its first large-scale battery capacity reserve auctions on 2 and 4 December 2026.