In 1963, Companhia Mineira de Água e Esgoto – COMAG was created by the State of Minas Gerais to provide water and sewage services to the municipalities of the state.

With the creation of the Financial System for Sanitation (Sistema Financeiro do Saneamento) and the National Sanitation Plan (PLANASA), the State Basic Sanitation Companies were founded. At that time, the Municipal Water and Sewage Department (DEMAE), which was responsible for the sanitation services of Belo Horizonte, was absorbed by COMAG. Thus, following mergers of municipal companies and massive growth, COMAG changed its corporate name to Companhia de Saneamento de Minas Gerais – COPASA MG in 1974.

Milestones

2000

Amendment of the State Law no. 6084/1973 (Company’s creation law),  which expanded the Company‘s incumbencies, allowing it to also collect, recycle, treat and dispose of urban, domestic and industrial waste. The Company was also authorized to establish partnerships with domestic and foreign companies, and enter into agreements or contracts with entities of the Federal, State and Municipal government entities or entities of the indirect administration in any government level.

2003

Registration as a closely held Corporation.

2006

IPO, with shares listed in the Novo Mercado segment of B3 – Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão, a segment that requires higher commitment to transparency and corporate governance rules.

2007

Creation of three wholly owned subsidiaries: COPASA Serviços de Saneamento Integrado do Norte e Nordeste de Minas Gerais (COPANOR), COPASA Águas Minerais de Minas and COPASA Serviços de Irrigação.

Approval of Federal Law 11,445/2007 (Sanitation Law), which established new rules and guidelines for the regulation, monitoring, planning and rendering of services.

2008

Secondary public offering of shares (follow-on), in which the municipality of Belo Horizonte, the second largest shareholder until then, disposed of all of its shares. The State of Minas Gerais, which continued to be a controlling shareholder, sold part of its shares.

2009

Establishment of the Minas Gerais State Water and Sewage Regulatory Agency (ARSAE-MG), through State Law 18,309/2009, with the purpose of regulating and monitoring sanitation activities, as well as determining the tariff structure.

2011

Establishment of the methodology for calculating the tariff adjustment of public water supply and sewage services subject to regulation by ARSAE-MG (Resolution 03/2011), which was repealed in june 2021.

2015

Organizational restructuring, with a reduction in the number of Executive Officers, commissioned positions and employees.

2016

The activities of subsidiaries COPASA Serviços de Irrigação and COPASA Águas Minerais de Minas were discontinued, since their purposes were not in line with the Company‘s Corporate Strategy.

2017

Conclusion of the Company‘s first Tariff Review by the Regulatory Agency ARSAE-MG.

Signing of the first landfill concession, with the municipality of Varginha, where COPASA receives, treats and disposes of solid waste.

2018

Improvement of Corporate Governance, with the creation of the Superintendence of Conformity and Risks, implementation of the Statutory Audit Committee and revision/institution of Governance Policies. In addition, the Annual Report on the Activities of Internal Audit (RAINT) and the Annual Chart of Governance and Public Policy were published for the first time.

2019

The Company began making profound transformations, designed to prepare it to face the new environment that has been emerging in the sanitation sector. The Company has been extensively restructured, the strategic planning has been reviewed and the organizational structure has been adjusted, with a reduction in the maximum number of executive areas from 8 (eight) to 5 (five) and a decline of almost 20% in the number of organizational units. The Relationship and Market executive area was created to increase the efficiency of actions related to relationships with clients, whether they are consumers or the granting authority, as well as to better organize the process of prospecting and attracting business opportunities.

In line with the Integrity Plan, the Company created and implemented several policies related to Internal Control, Gifts and Presents, Conflict of Interest, Corporate Governance and Related-party Transactions.

2020

Adoption of an emergency initiative due to the COVID-19 pandemic by setting up a Multidisciplinary Committee -COVID-19 Prevention, aiming at preserving the integrity and health of its employees. Implementation of initiatives to ensure the provision of services and to reduce the impacts for the population by relaxing commercial practices, mainly not cutting water supply or charging interest and fines from customers under the Social Residential category, as well as preventive measures concerning the relationship with the public, including the closing of service branches. Approval of the New Basic Sanitation Framework in July 2020 (Federal Law 14,026/2020), introducing profound changes to the sector, among which the establishment of goals to make our service provision universal by December 31, 2033, with 99% of drinking water coverage and 90% of sewage collection and treatment; goals for nondisruption, improved treatment processes; service expansion; loss reduction; quality service provision; efficiency; and responsible use of natural resources. In May 2020, Arsae-MG began the procedures for the Copasa Second Tariff Review, effective on August 1, 2021, when a new tariff cycle of four (4) years will be initiated. Still in 2020, a number of initiatives have been taken, highlighting:

  • Redefinition of Copasa’s strategic positioning, emphasizing that all employees had the opportunity to contribute to this process aimed at incorporating innovative transformation, customer focus and business sustainability elements into the organizational identity of the new Copasa.
  • Ratification of the Company’s commitment to sustainable development by becoming a signatory to the UN Global Compact and engaging in its initiatives, participating in the Rede Desafio 2030 (2030 Challenge Network) in partnership with Rede Brasil do Pacto Global.
  • Stock split of all Copasa common shares, in the proportion of one (1) common share to three (3) shares, in order to increase liquidity, expand and fragment the shareholder base, as well as access different investor profiles.
  • Continuous improvement in Governance by establishing and revising policies, carrying out assessments and providing training to the members of the Board of Directors, the Fiscal Council, the Executive Board and the Statutory Audit Committee.

2021

2021 highlights:

Held in May 2021, Copasa Day aimed at strengthening the relationship with investors and the public in general. The online event was attended by all Company executives. The results for the first quarter of 2021 were presented, as well as Copasa’s view and perspectives on the actions taken to make it more solid, efficient, and prepared to face the new challenges imposed by the new sanitation framework.

Implementation of the Company’s Voluntary Separation Plan (PDVI), which was joined by approximately 1,100 employees.

Conclusion, by Arsae-MG, of Copasa’s 2nd Tariff Review, effective from August 2021 to July 2025, when a new four-year tariff cycle will start. The new annual tariff adjustment calculation methodology was disclosed.

Investments totaling R$1,047.2 million in 2021.

2022

In the year 2022, the following events stand out:

Held in March 2022, Copasa Day aimed at strengthening the relationship with investors and the public in general.  The results for the forth quarter of 2021 were presented, as well as Copasa’s view and perspectives.

The amounts invested in 2022 in the Parent Company totaled R$1.31 billion.

The Company reported a net income of R$843.4 million in 2022.

In November 2022, Arsae-MG disclosed the Tariff Adjustment to be applied by COPASA MG as of January 1st, 2023. The Average Tariff Effect (ETM, or ATE) was 15.7%