With collaboration by Ericka Araújo – Updated at 17:43 pm
Starting this Wednesday (1st), Brazilian consumers will pay a tariff flag worth R$14,20 for every 100 kWh consumed. The announcement was made by André Pepitone, CEO of ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency) late afternoon this Tuesday (31) during a press conference broadcast on MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy) YouTube.
According to Pepitone, the “Water Scarcity” Tariff Flag will cause a 6,78% increase in the average tariff for regulated consumers. Low-income citizens who adhere to the social tariff will not be affected by the new Tariff Flag rules, and the current value will be maintained.
The measure adopted follows the recommendation of CREG (Chamber of Exceptional Rules for Hydroenergy Management). The validity of the flag will continue until April 2022. In addition, the Incentive Program for Voluntary Reduction in electricity consumption was announced, applicable to regulated consumers, through economic incentives.
As a result, from this Wednesday onwards the bonus will be R$50 per 100 reduced kWh – which means R$0,50 for each kWh – limited to the savings range between 10% and 20%. Low-income citizens who subscribe to the social tariff will also be able to participate in the Incentive Program for Voluntary Reduction in electricity consumption.
History of flags
Until last week, the Agency estimated that it would be necessary to increase the extra fee to around R$25 for every 100 kWh by the end of the year, but the Government opted for a smaller increase for a longer period. This is already the fourth increase implemented by the company in 2021, due to the effects of the worst water crisis in the last 91 years. In January, when the yellow flag was in force in the country, the extra charge was R$1,34 for every 100 kWh consumed.
The price remained stagnant until April 30, when the first increase was announced, with the activation of the red flag, at level 1, at a cost of R$4,16 for every 100 kWh. About a month later, on May 28, the second increase in bills across the country came, with the tariff flag changing levels again: going from red 1 to red 2, the most expensive of all.
The new value, therefore, rose to R$ 6,24 for every 100 kWh consumed, but it did not last for long, as in the following month, on June 29th, the value was readjusted by 52%, starting to cost R$ 9,49.
Effects of increasing electricity bills
The lack of rain has led to Brazil's reservoirs losing ground in the supply, while the Federal Government has been forced to resort to using thermal power plants – a more expensive source, in which the cost is ed on to the consumer – to avoid blackouts and energy rationing. The activation of these plants has meant that Brazilian families have had to pay more to use electricity in their homes and have had to deal with higher prices in other sectors of the economy, such as cooking gas and basic food items, due to the effects of inflation.
Inflation
In the last 12 months, the IPCA-15 reached 9,3%, largely due to the increase in the price of electricity, which rose 5% in August, according to data from IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). Last Wednesday (25), several neighborhoods in Macapá and cities in the interior of Amapá ed simultaneous power outages in the morning. Despite the problems, the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy) continues to deny any possibility of energy rationing and continues to state that it is taking measures to alleviate the situation.
Critical prediction
According to the Agency, the month of August was extremely critical for Brazilian reservoirs and the future outlook is not at all encouraging. Information from the ONS (National Electric System Operator) indicates that, in the current format, the power generation capacity will not be enough to meet the population's demand in October.
In the document, the agency emphasizes that it is essential to increase the supply of electricity from September onwards and recommended that the Federal Government take a series of measures to avoid energy rationing in the country. Currently, the reservoirs of hydroelectric plants in the Southeast and Central-West, responsible for 70% of Brazil's hydroelectric generation, operate at less than 22% of their capacity, according to the ONS.
