Surcharges on your electricity bill could double to support measures against rationing – Economy

Brasilia – Actions taken by the government to prevent a rationing from electricity They will cost the dear consumer. NS Estadao / broadcast I found that the new internal government accounts indicate the need for red flag level 2, today at R$9.49 per 100 kWh, raised to R$15-20. There is still a R$25 limit scenario, but it is not likely to be adopted.

Next Friday, 27, National Electric Energy Agency (ENEL) The flag that will be in effect on September electricity bills must be specified. As there is no indication that the supply conditions are improving and given the critical situation of the stations’ tanks Hydroelectric power stationsRed Flag Level 2 is expected to be maintained until the end of the year.

In June, the agency opened a public consultation to decide whether to keep the surcharge at R$9.49 or increase the amount to R$11.50. However, these values ​​were proposed by Aneel prior to the actions of the Hydropower Department’s Exceptional Rules Chamber (Creg), a group he chairs Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) It was created by interim measure 1055.

Since the commission’s establishment, the government has taken several measures to try to avoid power outages or even the need to ration power. The William Arjuna thermal power plant, in Mato Grosso do Sul, for example, has a variable cost of more than R$2,400 per megawatt-hour (MWh), and energy imports from Argentina and Uruguay, for example, cost more than R$2,000 per megawatt. Courier (MWh). Every day, Brazil imports 2,000 megawatts from neighboring countries.

Expenses for more expensive thermal plants are paid by distributors in practical cash, and can be transferred to the consumer in two ways: either through brands or in annual adjustment. Anil expects Konta Banderas to close the year with a deficit of R$8 billion. The emergency measures already adopted should increase the gap by another R$2.4 billion to R$4.3 billion. Companies complain that cash has reached its limit and there is no way to sustain such large sums for long.

Other measures that should start to be implemented in September will also have high costs, widening the gap for distributors. Such is the case of the program to stimulate the economy by the population, which provides for the payment of a bonus on the electricity bill to whoever provides electricity, and the response to demand aimed at rewarding industries that succeed in transforming their consumption. to less competitive times in terms of consumption.

The government has also allowed some thermal plants to run on diesel oil, one of the most expensive fuels, due to a lack of natural gas supplies in some places – the case of Termoceará, which got approval for a fuel change last week. Two other thermoelectric plants – Goiânia II and Palmeiras de Goiás – also requested permission to generate power at higher costs.

Also found Estadao / broadcastThe government is working with many options and scenarios. The first is to raise Red Flag 2 to cover the entire deficit between September and December. This would require a very high additional sum, amounting to R$25, but it would be withdrawn from the accounts in 2022, the year President Jair Bolsonaro is expected to run for re-election.

Another is to cover the gap until April, in a lighter way, agreeing to two flag values: one, higher, to be in effect between September and December, and another, lower, to be applied between January and April. Finally, another possibility is to increase the brand to a single median value, valid between September and April, of about 15 R$.

In theory, the decision to amend the tariff flag would be up to Aneel alone, but the regulator wants the approval of the Ministry of Municipality and Environment to adopt such an unpopular measure – in this case, by Creg and through the Electricity Sector Monitoring Committee (CMSE). The colleague met in an unusual way on the afternoon of Tuesday, the 24th.

The tariff flag system was created in 2015 to indicate a country’s energy values ​​to consumers. In practice, the colors and modalities—green, yellow, and red in the first and second tiers—indicate whether or not there are surcharges on electricity bills. This measure also mitigated the effects on the distributors’ budget. Until then, companies were required to bear the costs, which were only carried over to electricity bills in the annual tariff adjustment.

While normal tariff adjustments in consumer tariffs are made only once a year, brand values ​​are shifted on a monthly basis. However, as the water crisis worsened and the cost of generation increased, it was not enough to cover all the energy purchase expenditures. Thus, there is a mismatch between what utilities now need to pay for generators and what they actually get from consumers.

Electricity bill in 2022

Amendments to next year’s electricity bill have also become a source of concern for the government. Aneel estimates that tariffs should rise, on average, 16.68%. The forecast led the federal government to admit that it was already looking at solutions to ease adjustments to electricity bills in 2022. Experts assess that the measures may represent temporary relief, but could lead to tariffs in the coming years.

Among the measures considered is the return of consumers to tax credits resulting from the exclusion of ICMS from the base of calculation of PIS / Cofins in the electricity bill, which has already been made throughout this year, the reduction of Itaipu debt service is expected to begin in 2022 and the projection of “significant value” of resources from privatization Eletrobras, a state-owned company with a focus on power generation and distribution, to cut tariffs. According to Aneel, this contribution could add up to R$5 billion.