EDP has signed a contract with the Government of Ceará, through the State Infrastructure Secretariat, to supply energy through the free market, in the retail modality. The contract provides for the supply of 13,4 MW on average (or 117.000 MWh/year), until 2029, from renewable sources, to meet the demand of 144 state agencies. The supply began in November 2024.
In total, the government expects that the migration will represent an average saving of over 20% in electricity costs. Among the 17 agencies that have already migrated to the free energy market are the Ceará Events Center, the Castelão Arena, the headquarters of the Forensic Science Department, the Seinfra, the Health Department, in addition to five UPAs and the Leonardo Da Vinci and Dr. Waldemar Alcântara hospitals in Fortaleza, which will now operate with energy from clean sources, promoting cost reduction and more sustainable consumption.
The transition of the other departments will be carried out gradually, with priority given to large units with high energy consumption, in order to ensure agility in saving resources. The next departments to be migrated are the State Academy of Public Security (AESP), the Casa da Mulher Brasileira (Women's Secretariat) and the units of the Ceará Hematology and Hemotherapy Center (Hemoce) in Fortaleza, Iguatu and Crato.
For Hélio Winston Leitão, Secretary of Infrastructure of Ceará, ing the Free Energy Market reinforces the commitment of the Government of Ceará to more sustainable consumption. “We are committed to the energy transition and to the sustainability of our public facilities. With this initiative, we guarantee not only significant savings to the public coffers, but also a conscious supply, originating from renewable sources and that will bring benefits to future generations of the entire population of Ceará”.
In addition to the financial impact, state agencies will be protected from fluctuations in tariff flags, as the contracted tariff is fixed for the period, ensuring budget predictability and independence from external conditions. “Closing this partnership with the Government of Ceará further reinforces our performance and pioneering role in the free energy market.”
“We have a consolidated operation, which allows us to act with excellence and reliability in migrating customers to this market and in supplying renewable energy, with competitive conditions. In this way, we contribute to more and more companies reducing their energy costs and having more sustainable operations”, highlighted Diogo Baraban, Commercial Director of EDP in South America.
Expansion
In 2024, with the opening of the ACL (Free Contracting Environment) for medium and high voltage consumers, EDP saw a leap in the number of retail customers, the gateway to this market. In January 2025, the company reached the mark of 1.019 consumer units – which corresponds to a volume of around 98 MW on average, the vast majority of which are units with demands below 500 kW.
In this scenario of gradual market opening, EDP has been expanding its portfolio and seeking to play a leading role in the SME segment, both in the free energy market and in distributed solar generation, which is also a priority segment in the company's growth strategy in Brazil. In addition to focusing on infrastructure, EDP has been investing in expanding its sales team, migration systems and customer relationship platforms.
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