'There is nothing wrong with those who do not like politics. They will simply be governed by those who do.' The above quote dates back more than 2,5 years and is attributed to the Greek philosopher Plato. Despite its age, the phrase is still very relevant today, but the solar energy sector has repeatedly shown that it has not understood its meaning, despite how obvious it may seem.
The Brazilian electricity sector is highly regulated and it could not be otherwise, since it is strategic for the country. The solar energy segment, on the other hand, has grown and sought its development based on an initial regulation that did not offer legal security to its investors and entrepreneurs.
This reality began to change precisely through strong institutional action by representative entities, including the INEL (National Institute of Clean Energy) who, after years of building government relations in Parliament and the Executive, built a road that culminated in Law 14.300/2022, the legal framework for distributed generation.
Despite this clear example that the politicization of the sector is imperative for the advancement of the activity's central agendas, the leaders seem to forget that political articulation needs to be intensified and that the most organized segments obtain expressive results in relation to the disunited or neophyte segments in this Relgov action.
Another recent example of the need to forces to defend recent issues in the solar energy sector was the vote on 671 / 2024 Bill by the Mining and Energy Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, in November.
By nine votes to five, the bill that amends Law 14.300/2022 and prohibits the production of electricity through microgeneration or minigeneration distributed by energy concessionaires was removed from the agenda and, to date, has not returned to the House's agenda.
The president of Frepel (t Parliamentary Front for Clean Energy), deputy Lafayette de Andrada (Republicans-MG), is the rapporteur of the matter and argued that the text was mature, after a series of debates in the collegiate. The withdrawal from the agenda, however, opens the possibility for the solar sector to mobilize and position itself.
The lack of engagement between the sector and the parliamentarians in their states regarding the importance of this first vote ended up overloading the work of INEL, which was the only representative entity present at the CME session and which worked to garner votes in favor of the ban.
The empty session, with a low parliamentary quorum, resulted in the postponement of its consideration. Even with the lack of engagement from other entities, despite appeals from INEL, the vote was tight in favor of the interests of the distributors.
However, the discussion on the topic has not ended and the project will continue its processing at the CME. It is up to the solar sector to learn from its mistake and take advantage of this second chance, with greater engagement with parliamentarians so that the final result changes sides.
This is the vote on a fundamental project for the solar energy sector and which directly impacts the right of consumers and companies to generate their own energy.
In addition to this matter, deputy Lafayette de Andrada is also leading the processing of other projects, including PL 624/2023, which aims to facilitate access to solar energy for low-income families and improve legislation on distributed generation.
INEL has been advocating for the union of efforts and a unified discourse on urgent issues. There is a fear among the entities of losing prominence in discussions that only occurs in the solar sector.
The institutions do not Frepel's work as they could, as a voice defending the activity in Parliament, and they spend time and money without achieving resonance in the National Congress. This duplication of efforts is not healthy for solar energy.
We are going against the grain, for example, of agribusiness entities. A sector that is already structured and organized, through the union of around 60 agricultural entities, s the IPA (Instituto Pensar Agropecuária) which acts firmly with the objective of defending the interests of agriculture and providing advice to the Parliamentary Front for Agriculture (FPA).
Meanwhile, INEL continues its institutional activities in Brasília in an isolated manner, providing all and technical subsidies to Frepel.
Despite the difficulties, INEL has achieved significant results. A recent example was the approval of the inclusion of distributed generation in the My House My Life Program. Although, to date, there is no budget to implement it, the inclusion of GD is approved by law.
Double standards on crucial issues for the electricity sector
This will represent more resources, in addition to expanding the solar energy development environment throughout the country. INEL was the only entity in the solar sector responsible for this articulation and which, in fact, acted and contributed directly to the sector's entry into the Federal Government's program.
This institutional action aims precisely to provide parliamentarians and of the highest echelons of government with technical information on the relevance of these and other matters. These are substantial projects, not only for the clean energy sector. It is necessary to make clear the benefits of distributed generation for the electricity sector in general, for the economy, for the environment and for the Brazilian population, who will have the right to produce their own energy, in a sustainable and cheaper way. In addition to all this, it will help to cool the constant increases in electricity rates for the entire society.
This is the type of data and information that all representative entities need to disseminate, from the Legislative Branch to the regulatory agencies and the Executive Branch. The work of raising awareness and educating decision-makers is indeed a responsibility of our sector.
Solar energy is relatively new compared to other areas competing for space and interests in the electrical system. It is essential to assume this identity and intensify public and governmental relations in search of, at the very least, a greater balance in the influence on decision-making agents. The solar sector can no longer deny that there are political forces that shape the electrical sector. By not accepting this reality, we will succumb to the more organized and politically active segments.
Regulation, policy and dialogue with different audiences are cultural aspects of our sector. To survive in this market and continue to grow, it is necessary to be part of and truly inserted in this Culture.
The opinions and information expressed are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the author. Canal Solar.
