Impact of the ICMS ceiling on the electricity bill will vary; understand

The establishment of a ceiling for the ICMS of the states on the electricity bill between 17% and 18% was the most incisive attempt by the government and Congress to change energy tariff costs in an election year. The measure was included in PL (Bill) 18, approved this Monday (13) by the Senate, and also covers fuel, telecommunications and transport.

The need for this ceiling has already been defined by the STF (Supreme Federal Court). In judgment on the subject, the court understood that the energy service is essential and needs a maximum rate, based on the standard value of the tax, without determining values.

“The project will convert into law what the Supreme Court had already decided, which is an advance”, says lawyer André Edelstein, a specialist in the energy sector.

​Each of the 26 states and the Federal District have their own way of charging, according to a survey by Abradee (Brazilian Association of Electric Energy Distributors). Some have three tiers of rates per volume of consumption. Others adopt a single, higher rate. There is no standard. There are low-income exemptions, but these ranges also vary.

Therefore, the effect of the ceiling established by Congress will be very diverse, warn industry experts. Aneel’s projection indicates that the reduction may be 12% on average.

In the capital of São Paulo, for example, three billing ranges are adopted for residential consumers. In addition to the social tariff, there is an exemption for those who consume up to 90 KWh. Above that, the rate is 12% up to 220 KWh, rising to 27% up to 500 KWh. In this case, a family more zealous with consumption may even pay more tax with the change.

In Rio, the exemption goes up to 50 kWh. Above that, a rate of 18% is applied up to 300 KWh, and rates higher than 30% up to a ceiling of 500 KWh. Rio is an atypical city, where air conditioning is used a lot, so the measure tends to favor the middle and upper classes.

Miners and Bahians will benefit greatly. In these states, low-income people have social security, but there is no exemption for those who consume less. In Minas Gerais, a single rate of 30% is adopted, and in Bahia, 27%.

“Reducing taxes on the electricity bill is important, but the measure as it came has a strong populist component because, let’s remember, it alleviates a third of the problem, but it does not solve it”, says Ricardo Lima, an energy sector consultant with 42 years of experience. activities in entities and companies in the area.