RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Brazil's Eletropaulo Metropolitana SA, controlled by U.S. utility AES Corp , said on Thursday that it should not have to pay a 1.7-billion-real ($436 million) debt owed to Brazilian state-run utility Eletrobras, as recommended by a court-appointed consultant.

Eletropaulo said the ruling was not favorable to the company and that it would press its arguments against the consultant report in court.

The debt was contracted by Eletropaulo in 1986, more than a decade before AES bought control of the company from the government of Sao Paulo state. Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA , as Eletrobras is formally known, has been trying to collect the debt since 1989.

Eletropaulo, which had its transmission unit split from it before being sold by Sao Paulo, has long held that it is not responsible for the debt and has been fighting Eletrobras attempts to collect in a Rio de Janeiro court.

($1 = 3.90 Brazilian reais) (Reporting by Jeb Blount; Editing by Kim Coghill)