Brazilians will have to prepare their pockets, an increase in the electricity bill in the coming years seems to be foreseen. Why? Provisional Measure 1.118/2022, approved by the Chamber of Deputies at the end of August and which is being discussed in the Senate, could cost clients more than R$ 4.5 billion per year over the next 30 years.
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Congress has been aggressively crafting subsidies that benefit business but hurt consumers. In this case, the changes meet the demands of companies in the wind sector in the North and Northeast, as they seek reduce energy transmission costs, thereby increasing the number of people paying energy bills electric.
The articles in this MP focused on the fuel market, but received amendments unrelated to the subject, the so-called tortoises, inserted by deputy rapporteur Danilo Fortes (União-CE). An agreement with the mayor Arthur Lira (PP-AL) was ratified in a record 15 hours at the end of August.
All Brazilians will pay for the extra, but the tortoise specifically penalizes states that have new power generators. According to the Association of Distributors (Abradee), the tortoises in the MP will extend for 24 months the subsidies for incentivized energy (wind and solar), whose annual impact is estimated at BRL 8.5 billion.
Electricity prices could rise up to 5.67% in Alagoas, President Lira's electoral base. In the state of Ceará, where the rapporteur who caused the change lives, the growth is estimated at 4.1%.
In the state of Minas Gerais, this increase will reach 4.27%, according to the Brazilian Association of Large Energy Consumers and Free Consumers. In the North and Northeast, where the number of hydroelectric, wind and solar projects is high, the numbers will decrease rather than increase.
The experts understand that customers in these areas are so close to the generator that they have to pay less. The other perspective is that the construction of the necessary transmission lines will inevitably increase the cost of the region.
According to the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel), the new rules will reduce tariffs by 2.4% for consumers from the Northeast and 0.8% for consumers from the North, but the legislative proposal overturned the regulator's idea and passed on the increase in value to consumers.