Given the recent increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events in Brazil, such as the calamity experienced this year in Rio Grande do Sul, the ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency) opened, this Wednesday (13), a public consultation that aims to adapt standards related to the transmission and distribution of electricity, with a focus on improving the service provided to agents in the electricity sector during emergency situations and on the dissemination of good practices on network resilience.
According to the Agency, the proposals include compensation for consumers after 24 hours without power in urban areas and reimbursement for electrical damage when there is proof of a causal link between the service provided and the damage suffered.
During the deliberation at the Public Meeting of the Board of Directors, the reporting director of the process, Agnes da Costa, emphasized that the obligation of concessionaires, in light of the concession contracts, is to manage their business to ensure levels of regularity, continuity, efficiency, safety, timeliness, generality and courtesy in the provision of the service in any situation. And that the Agency's action in this process is to contribute to this occurring, generating the appropriate incentives for the concessionaire.
The director reinforced the need to improve the communication process with the consumer, highlighting the experience in the latest emergency situations monitored by ANEEL. “Providing consumers with the best information available mitigates the effects of an extreme weather event on their lives, and such a measure must be part of crisis management and be as much of a priority as restoring service, and cannot be relegated to second place,” he highlighted.
The regulatory proposal also includes guidelines for distributors regarding the plant management plan in their area of operation and minimum requirements for Contingency Plans for the efficient and timely reestablishment of the service provided in the event of extreme weather events.
The proposal of ANEEL presented in the public consultation emphasizes the service to the consumer of electric energy, seeking to reduce discomfort and losses resulting from the interruption in the energy supply. See the main points:
- Consumer compensation: financial compensation to consumers in emergency situations, when the interruption exceeds 24 hours in urban areas and 26 hours in rural areas. Compensation is provided by means of a reduction in the energy bill, considering the value of the tariff and the hours that the consumer was without service;
- Compensation for damage to equipment: ANEEL proposes to allow reimbursement to consumers in the event of damage to electrical equipment during an emergency situation or state of calamity, a possibility currently not provided for in Resolution 1000/2021;
- Clear and up-to-date communication: according to the proposed rule, distributors must notify consumers without electricity within 15 minutes that they are aware of the outage. They must inform the cause of the outage, the area affected and the estimated time for the supply to be restored. Distributors must also maintain a website updated every five minutes with a list of open incidents, the number of consumers affected by outages and a map of the affected areas. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in a fine for the distributor, in addition to other applicable penalties.
According to the Agency, planning for the occurrence of extreme events by energy transmission and distribution companies is also a priority expressed in the proposal for public consultation. Among the measures that the Agency intends to require are:
- Pruning vegetation in cases of risk: pruning trees is a responsibility of municipal governments, but ANEEL proposes that distributors be responsible for preventive and corrective actions aimed at the safety and continuity of service. Distributors must maintain a plant management plan for their area of operation, updated annually, and an annual report on the measures taken, and both must be published on the websites of these companies;
- Contingency plan: transmission companies and distributors must prepare and publish on their websites their climate monitoring and preparedness plans for responding to extreme weather events. The plans must include team training, simulations, communication procedures, and actions to be taken according to the severity of the event. Transmission companies must submit their plans to the ANEEL and the ONS (National System Operator);
- Communication with the Government: the Communication Plan to be published by distributors must provide for notification to the Government immediately after the identification of a critical event. Distributors must guarantee an exclusive communication channel for the Government in emergency situations, with 24-hour human assistance.
A ANEEL The proposal also already indicated the penalties foreseen in cases of non-compliance with the standard under study, especially on points related to the contingency plan, vegetation management and actions for efficient communication with consumers and Public Authorities.
The proposed regulation in the public consultation also includes the standardization of collaboration between agents for the movement of teams and equipment in order to reinforce assistance in severe weather events, including financial compensation for services.
How to participate in the public consultation
Public Consultation No. 032/2024 will be available for contributions from 13/11 to 12/12/2024. The draft resolution, form of contribution and other information about the consultation will be published on the ANEEL on the internet, in the space of Public Consultation No. 032/2024.
all the content of Canal Solar is protected by copyright law, and partial or total reproduction of this site in any medium is expressly prohibited. If you are interested in collaborating or reusing part of our material, please us by email: [email protected].
