The aim of this research is to understand the competitive dynamics on the Brazilian power sector, focusing on the distribution segment. We will try to understand how distribution companies have positioned themselves on their competitive environment, by the identification of their generic strategies and analyzing which of these strategies yielded a better performance. This study was carried out utilizing Michael Porter´s generic strategies typology, used to form five strategic groups. Our sample consists of 45 power distribution companies, which we thoroughly analyzed their strategic positioning and perfomance for the years 2002 to 2004, using multivariate analysis tools. We have concluded that the generic strategy of differentiation is the one that yielded the best performance and confirmed Porter hypothesis that firms that are stuck in the middle have the worst performance.