Government discusses reviewing charges and subsidies that make electricity bills more expensive, says minister

Minister Rui Costa, from the Civil House, stated this Wednesday morning (3) that the government is committed to discussing measures to reduce the electricity bill of the Brazilian population, especially small consumers. Among them is the review of charges and subsidies embedded in tariffs that benefit sectors on one side and make them more expensive on the other to compensate for the reduction.

According to Costa, the price of electricity is the “central concern” of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and that it does not make sense for Brazil to have the “cheapest generation in the world” while the bill is one of the most expensive for the consumer. For the year 2024, the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) predicts an increase of 5.6%, above the inflation estimated at 3.9% by the financial market.

Costa states that Lula has been meeting frequently with ministers like him, Alexandre Silveira (Mine and Energy, MME) and Fernando Haddad (Treasury), as well as external technicians (next Tuesday, 9) to hear opinions on measures that can be taken to make bills cheaper.

“We want to evaluate possible measures to reduce consumer energy bills. […] Over many years, we have been placing a lot of burden, a lot of subsidy on the energy bills of the population that today pays for it. Every time a tax relief or subsidy is made, someone will pay this bill, and we are discussing this”, said Rui Costa in an interview with GloboNews.

Rui Costa stated that a Provisional Measure will soon be issued to seek balance in the schedule of investments in wind-solar energy generation, in which the participation of investors in the “recent past” in parks in the Northeast was estimated with the counterpart of the government auctioning three large transmission lines, which was not done.

The lines, explained the minister, would connect the Southeast to the Northeast and ended up not distributing the production generated from those investments. The MME held two auctions last year and another this year, with contracts signed this Wednesday afternoon (3).

“[Com isso] We are going to issue a decree replacing the conditions for these investors – and giving a deadline – for them to start these wind-solar and hybrid investments in the Northeast. Our estimate is that more than R$100 billion of investment will take place starting this year in this production chain to generate more energy for Brazil”, highlighted Costa.

According to information from the MME, there will be around 16 thousand kilometers of new transmission lines, an expansion of approximately 8.8% of the total length of the basic network, and 13 new substations. They are expected to come into operation between 2027 and 2030.