Aneel approves new rule that benefits consumers, but burdens generator in Northeast

Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency) approved this Tuesday (20) new rules for tariffs for the use of the energy transmission system (Tust), in a movement that should impact generators and consumers in different ways, depending mainly on the region of the country in which they are located.

The new rules approved, which start to be applied in 2023, should, for example, encumber generators in the Northeast, while reducing the value of the bill for consumers in the region.

They involve Tust’s so-called “location signal”, a mechanism that has two main functions: to indicate the most rational location for the installation of new energy projects, in order to bring generation closer to consumption; and ensure cost balance, allocating greater burdens to those who most burden the system.

The logic of the change, according to Aneel, is to make it cheaper to consume energy where there is more generation, and at the same time to encumber generators that make greater use of the transmission system to transfer their energy to the large load centers in the South and Southeast.

Thus, the new methodology should mainly impact generators and consumers in the Northeast of Brazil – a region that has changed from an importer to an exporter of electricity in recent years, with the strong growth of wind and solar generation.

For energy consumers in the North and Northeast, Aneel calculates a benefit: the tariff in these regions would have, on average, a reduction of 2.4%.

As for generators, the trend is for greater burdens in these regions, with an impact on the competitiveness and costs of new and existing plants.

To mitigate the effects of the new rules, a transition schedule was created until 2028. The idea is to gradually “merge” the application of the current methodology with the new one, reaching the proportion of 50%-50% in 2027/28.

In a meeting this Tuesday, the director general of Aneel, Sandoval Feitosa, defended the proposal, saying that the current methodology no longer takes into account the recent changes in the logic of expansion of energy generation and transmission in the country.

The rapporteur of the locational signal process, Helvio Guerra, also defended the measure, denying that Tuesday’s decision is related to the content of Provisional Measure 1118, which was approved in the Chamber containing an excerpt on the subject.

“We cannot say or accept that anyone says that we are accelerating the discussion to overlap or exceed the competences of Aneel and the National Congress”, said Guerra, referring to the possible vote on MP 1118 this week.

Last week, Guerra harshly criticized the part of the MP that deals with the locational signal, saying that this and other “tortoise” included are “absolutely harmful” and should encumber consumers via tariffs.

The text of MP 1118, which still needs to go through the Senate, says that the location signal methodology in the definition of tariffs must consider the national policy of expansion of the electricity matrix, “aiming at reducing regional inequalities, maximum energy efficiency and the greatest environmental benefit”.

According to the director of Aneel, this would eliminate potential benefits with the changes being studied by the agency, which could reduce tariffs for consumers in the Northeast.

The rapporteur also denied that the new rule will “end” the expansion of renewable sources, such as wind, in the Northeast.