BRASILIA, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Brazil's electricity regulator Aneel on Wednesday ordered state-controlled power holding Eletrobras to return 3 billion reais ($951.54 million) received as subsidies to a government fund.
The payments were made between 2009 and 2016 to Amazonas Distribuidora de Energia S.A, a subsidiary of Eletrobras. Aneel said it recalculated the subsidies and found Amazonas received substantially more than it should have according to CCC rules.
An Eletrobras spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment after business hours.
Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras SA, as Eletrobras is formally known, will have 90 days to return the money to CCC, a government fund that subsidizes power companies not included in the grid to pay for more expensive thermal generation.
The company can appeal the decision within the next 10 days.
Aneel in March had estimated 3.7 billion reais in irregular subsidies to Amazonas.
($1 = 3.1528 reais) (Reporting by Silvio Cascione)