Low income will not have an extra charge on the electricity bill in December

Low-income consumers will not need to pay an extra charge on the electricity bill in December, reported this Friday (26) to Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency). With that, they will have a relief of R$ 1.87 for each 100 kWh (kilowatt-hour) consumed.

For other consumers, the water scarcity banner remains in force, which adds R$14.20 for every 100 kWh consumed. This extraordinary fee began to be charged in September and is in effect until April 2022.

According to Aneel, the more favorable service conditions allowed the implementation of the green flag, without additional fees, on the electricity bill of consumers served by the Social Tariff program. In November, they are paying the yellow flag.

The end of the rate for this class comes at a time of slight recovery of the reservoirs by the rains of recent months. In the Southeast and Midwest regions, the average level of energy storage was 19.38% on Thursday (25).

The ONS (National Electric System Operator) projects that the indicator should continue to show improvement in December, closing the month at 26.1%, according to the operation schedule released this Friday. Rainfall in these regions should be 99% of the historical average.

The expectation is that the reservoirs located in the North and Northeast regions will also gain more water during the month. In the first case, the energy storage level should close in December at 40.6%; in the second, by 47.5%.

The high use of thermal power plants to save water in reservoirs is partially supported by tariff flags, which provide distributors with resources to buy more expensive energy. Even with the collection of the water scarcity flag, however, the bill remains open.

For this reason, the government and distributors are discussing a new loan to the sector, with the objective of diluting the transfer of the flag account deficit to tariffs in five years, which would be concentrated in 2022, generating a readjustment of up to 21% in the electricity bill.

The loan, which could reach R$ 15 billion, would be paid in installments over a longer period, reducing the percentage of increase in the account in an election year.

Alongside fuels, the electricity bill has been helping to pressure inflation in the country. In November, the preview of the official index closed at 10.73% in the 12-month period, the highest mark for this interval since February 2016 (10.84%).