Chamber promotes ‘mutant tortoise’ that raises electricity bill by R$ 79 billion

Entities in the energy area were surprised this Wednesday (30) by the alternation in a bill that, in addition to increasing costs in the electricity bill by R$ 79 billion, creates risks to the environment.

The change comes at a time when there is a strong lobbying movement in the Chamber, which has already put in motion other proposals that could raise the tariff by more than R$100 billion.

In practice, the measure presented this Wednesday determines that gas thermal plants be replaced by PCH (Small Hydroelectric Power Plants), extending to these new hydro projects the right to exemptions that are granted to the so-called GD (distributed generation), mostly generated by panels solar.

The change was inserted in PL (bill) 2703 by the rapporteur of the matter, deputy Beto Pereira (PSDB-MS.

Authored by Deputy Celso Russomanno (Republicanos-SP), the PL was already being questioned for trying to extend the deadline for granting subsidies to DG by 12 months, changing the regulatory framework for the sector in default of a sectoral discussion. The original proposal, without the change inserted this Wednesday by the rapporteur, would already have the potential to raise the electricity bill by at least R$ 50 billion.

To this value, now, another R$ 79 billion can be added, until 2045, says Marcos Madureira, president of Abradee (Brazilian Association of Electric Energy Distributors).

The PL was almost put to a vote this Wednesday, however, alerted by members of the government transition group in the area of ​​energy, PT parliamentarians worked for the text not to go to plenary.

A random amendment, unrelated to the original proposal of the bill, is usually called a jabuti. In this case, the change is considered so drastic that it is being described as a mutant tortoise, explains Luiz Eduardo Barata, president of the National Front of Energy Consumers. The entity has been gathering efforts to stop the advance of the electricity bill in initiatives like this one in Congress.

During the course of the privatization of Eletrobras, congressmen included in the project the obligation to build 8,000 MW (megawatts) of gas thermal power plants. These thermals became known as Eletrobras’ tortoises.

Of this total, 2,500 MW would have to be installed in the Midwest.

Deputy Beto Pereira’s proposal, experts say, is a new tortoise to change the old one. It converts 1,500 MW of thermal power plants in the Midwest into smaller hydroelectric plants, such as 30 MW. These new projects, in addition to not paying for the use of the wire, would be exempt from the other subsidies foreseen for the DG segment, which are partly paid today by this type of undertaking.

The proposal is also seen as an environmental risk. As each PCH would have a maximum of 30 MW, it would be necessary to spread thousands of small projects across the Midwest, where important environmental reserves are located, such as the Pantanal.

“We were already against the original change of this PL, which extends the term of the subsidy, as it is a social injustice to charge the poorest a benefit that favors the richest consumer”, says Barata.

“With one more tortoise, Congress goes beyond its attributions and starts to want to carry out sectorial planning, imposing how the expansion of energy supply will be, without even looking at demand.”

According to Abradee’s calculation, the change in the Eletrobras privatization law, to oblige the contracting of 1,500 MW of PCHs for 20 years, in place of thermal plants, adds R$ 23 billion to the tariff, at present value, until 2045.

Equating the benefits of hydroelectric plants with distributed generation, in turn, causes an impact on the tariff of R$ 56 billion, considering only those that enter in the next 30 months.

“The PL 2703 proposal represents a setback, with huge costs for Brazilian consumers. The amendments presented today by the rapporteur double this cost”, says the president of Abradee. “This is not fair and our expectation is that this PL will be rejected.”

Who followed the discussion in Congress this Wednesday, evaluates that the alteration in the thermals of the Center West tries to circumvent problems inherent to the jabuti thermals of Eletrobras.

The first auction, for the North and Northeast regions, for example, had demand lower than expected. One of the problems is the difficulty in guaranteeing the construction of a gas pipeline network. The costs could reach R$ 100 billion. For years, the private sector has been trying to transfer the account to public coffers, but without success.

The transitional government has also signaled that it may review the construction of these thermal plants. Changing the nature of the undertaking would be a way of guaranteeing subsidies for private investors interested in the projects.