Minister signals that government should veto “tortoises” from offshore wind generation

Minister Alexandre Silveira, of Mines and Energy, signaled this Monday (4) that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) should veto some of the amendments approved by the Chamber of Deputies to the offshore wind energy generation project, approved last week.

If confirmed, the vetoes will lead to another chapter in the conflict that the government has been fighting with Congress, which was dissatisfied with the complete overturning of the extension of the payroll tax exemption and the time frame for the demarcation of indigenous lands, among others. These last two are considered priorities by parliamentarians and should be overturned in the next joint session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, which could take place this Thursday (7) or next week.

One of the amendments to the wind energy generation project offshoreauthored by deputy Zé Vitor (PL-MG), makes the hiring of coal-fired thermal plants mandatory, and goes against the environmental policy that the government has been trying to implement to reduce the use of fossil fuels and expand energy generation renewable.

The use of coal is one of the biggest generators of greenhouse gases and has high costs for the electricity bill. The amendments could cost Brazilians R$39 billion, according to estimates.

Silveira stated that the project is still being processed in Congress, but that the government is paying attention to the “jabutis” that are being included in the proposal. He says that energy and fuels have a “relevant weight in the fiscal target”, which Minister Fernando Haddad, of Finance, intends to reach zero in 2024.

“It is not yet under the Executive’s review, but when it arrives, Brazilians can be fully convinced that we will be intransigent in defense of the Brazilian consumer and consequently the national economy,” he said in an interview with GloboNews.

Alexandre Silveira also attacked previous governments due to the conduct of public policies in the electricity sector, which he says “has become a patchwork”. Since the beginning of the government, the minister has been criticizing the privatization of Eletrobras carried out by the government of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and which reduced the ministry’s voting power in the council.

The minister said he was concerned about the number of amendments that were added to the project – 179 in total – and which will cause a high tariff impact. Silveira also criticized the granting of subsidies to polluting sources and others that are already considered unnecessary by the government – ​​without giving an example of which ones.

“We will do this with complete serenity, balance, respecting Parliament, but with a firm hand to be able to defend the public interest in the electricity sector”, he added.

An investigation published this Monday (4) by the newspaper The globe points out that the electricity bill could rise up to 10.41% next year due to subsidies granted by the government, according to calculations made by the Brazilian Association of Large Energy Consumers (Abrace).

The value will be above the inflation forecast for this year, of 4.53%, and next year, of 3.91%. According to the association, the subsidies include benefits for the purchase of mineral coal and diesel oil in places that do not have access to the National Interconnected System (SIN), and incentives for renewable sources and low-income families.

According to data from the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel), these funds reached R$34.99 billion in 2023 and could jump to R$37.16 billion in 2024 and R$42.27 billion in 2025, estimates Abrace.