Itaipu assesses high energy tariff – 04/17/2023 – Market

This year’s Itaipu tariff negotiation enters the final phase. The provisional value was unilaterally fixed by the Brazilian side at US$ 12.67 / Kw (about R$ 62.65 per kilowatt) at the end of last year and may rise to US$ 16 (R$ 79.11).

Paraguayan negotiators are working to maintain the tariff at US$ 20.75 (R$ 102.60), which was the value set in 2022. A council meeting scheduled for this Monday (17) discusses the values.

The fare of US$ 12.67 is the lowest in history. Compared to the value practiced in 2022, this is a 33% drop on the dollar price. However, a study by Bolsonarist management estimates that it could be even lower, close to US$ 10 (R$ 49.45).

An additional cost will penalize energy consumers on the Brazilian side.

Despite the fact that the energy produced by Itaipu is divided half and half between the two countries, Paraguay does not consume all of its share and, in the end, Brazilians in the South, Southeast and Midwest regions consume 85% of the energy distributed, with impacts in the electricity bill of these regions.

Itaipu’s tariff is currently more a political than a technical discussion.

The treaty that governs the plant establishes that Itaipu cannot make a profit, that is, money left over. The tariff is equivalent to the expenses to maintain the plant, technically called Cuse (Electricity Service Costs).

They are the sum of three large groups. The heaviest cost has always been the debt contracted for the construction of the plant, which had been representing just over 60% of the total. The debt, however, was settled at the end of February this year.

The payment of royalties for the use of water remains, which is linked to the production of energy.

Also relevant is the so-called operating cost, which in practice includes expenses for operation and maintenance of the plant, but also includes disbursements for the socio-environmental mission of the plant.

Over the years, this additional cost was concentrated in works.

People close to the company, who prefer not to have their names revealed, say that the tariff hike, if confirmed, will channel resources towards those expenses qualified as socio-environmental that are of particular interest to politicians in Paraguay and mainly in Paraná, where socio-environmental contributions are concentrated. from Itaipu.

Every dollar spent on the Brazilian side must also be disbursed on the Paraguayan side.

In this respect, Itaipu’s resources are a kind of parallel public fund funded by energy consumers. As Brazilians pay most of it, specialists say that the side of the border pays for two works, but takes one.

According to a survey carried out by the PSR consultancy, one of the most respected in Brazil, the expenses with the so-called socio-environmental responsibility programs of Itaipu increased from US$ 88.5 million (R$ 437.6 million) in 2013 to US$ 316.1 million (R$ 1.563 billion) this year.