Resumo

Energy is structuring, being a vector of the economy. The electricity sector is one of the most important for the growth of countries, due to its transversality, that is, it is present in all industries, throughout the production chain, guaranteeing the well-being of society. The energy transition is a major challenge from both the economic and technological points of view. Replacing fossil sources, such as oil and coal, with other types of energy, will require time, much persistence, and political will around the globe.

The association between Stakeholder Theory (ST) and Actor-Network Theory (ANT) can contribute to explaining the agency exerted by technology in transition processes. The research question is: How does the relation among actors interfere with the paths of the Brazilian energy transition? This paper aims to analyze the relationship between actors and how it interferes with energy transition paths regarding electricity in Brazil.

For the Actor-Network Theory (ANT), there is no such thing as a "where to start" society. There is no kind of "binding reserve" nothing that can keep social groups but the definitions and decisions of the group itself. Interested parties are influenced and respond to multiple influences from the entire stakeholder set. Actors perform partial accounting among multiple possible realities. Many consolidated "truths" can be challenged in the context of transitions to sustainability. Controversies help us understand that multiple realities coexist and are part of a whole actor-network.

The paper focused on qualitative analysis of primary and secondary data sources. Secondary data from twenty webinars, intentionally chosen based on adherence to the researched topic, carried out by FGV Energia and EPBR Agency, held between March 2020 and December 2021. These views were contrasted with secondary data from official documents accessed on the internet and primary data collected in semi-structured interviews with thirteen actors in the Brazilian electricity sector. The paper is carried out the steps proposed by Tureta et al. (2021): Sampling, Scanning, Tracing, Labeling, describing

Results demonstrates the role of the various actors in the transition paths, as well as the nature of the controversies that emerge from the actors' actions. In addition, the different views of the actors' reality about the controversies mapped are presented. The visions of the actors demonstrate the challenges to be gathered and faced in the process of transition to a low-carbon economy.

It appears that, effectively, energy transitions raise several controversies regarding the best paths to be taken, both from the point of view of market design, as well as business models, regulation, and public policies. Brazil has ample natural resources and a diversity of possibilities for decarbonization. Decarbonization measures adopted by Brazil will probably not be the same as those adopted in other countries. It is important to note that the Brazilian energy sector is much broader than the electricity sector.

Tureta, C., Américo, B. L., & Clegg, S. (2021). Controversies as a method for ANTi-history: An inquiry into public administration practices. Organization, 28(6), 1018–1035. Turnheim, Bruno, Geels, Frank W., 2013. The destabilisation of existing regimes. Confronting a multi-dimensional framework with a case study of the British coal industry (1913–1967). Res. Policy 42 (10), 1749–1767.