Even with the recovery of the water level in the hydroelectric reservoirs due to heavy rains, the electricity bill of Brazilians should not be reduced in the coming months and, according to a resolution by the CMSE (Committee for Monitoring the Electricity Sector) this Wednesday (12), emergency measures will continue to be in place to guarantee energy supply.
The main one foresees a limit of 15 average gigawatts (average GW) for the contracting of energy by thermoelectric plants and generators in other countries. In addition, only thermal plants that charge a maximum of R$ 1,000 per MWh (megawatt-hour) can be activated.
During the height of the crisis, the country acquired energy from thermal plants and even from neighboring countries for more than R$ 2,000 per MWh, almost ten times more than the reference price. This overloaded the entire electrical system, which, at the moment, faces a gap of R$ 14 billion resulting from these higher prices.
For this reason, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, said in an interview with the newspaper O Globo that the extra tariff charged on the electricity bill, the so-called water scarcity tariff flag, will remain in effect until April this year. For it, each consumer pays R$ 14.20 more for every 100 kWh consumed.
The measure will be necessary to compensate for the lack of rain in the South and Southeast regions, which, according to the ONS (National System Operator), still compromises the water level in the plants’ reservoirs.
The worst drought in the last 91 years caused the level of reservoirs to drop so much that the CMSE was forced to reduce the flow of water in the turbines of several hydroelectric plants as a way of preserving water in case of a worsening of the drought.
Therefore, the government authorized the generation of electricity by thermal plants that began to cover the deficit of hydroelectric plants at an exorbitant price. There were also imports of energy from Uruguay and Argentina, which made Brazilians’ electricity bills very expensive since October 2020, when these orders began.
The water scarcity tariff was created by Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency) in August last year to cover the rise in these costs, which, according to the president of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto, has put pressure on inflation to the point of bursting the center. of the target defined by the BC for last year – between 2.25% and 5.25%. Inflation measured by the IPCA was 10.06% in the period.
The scenario, however, tends to improve. The heavy rains registered in the last few weeks since mid-October have raised the country’s reservoirs, but they are still far from the comfort zone, especially in the Southeast and Central-West hydrographic basins, known as the sector’s water tank. .
According to the ONS, in September 2021, the level of reservoirs in these regions reached the lowest point —16.75% of total capacity. Projections now indicate that they will reach the end of January with 40%. In January last year, it was 23.36%.
ONS projections indicate that there will be a recovery of the reservoirs in the North (which will reach 73.2%) and Northeast (70.2%). In the South there will be a resumption, but at lower levels than in the same period last year due to rains, which are still scarce in the region.
The CMSE expects storage in the Southeast and Midwest regions to reach 47.1% in June 2022 – well above the 29.1% recorded on June 30, 2021.
“Considering the repetition of the critical rainfall scenario verified in the rainy season of 2020/2021, illustrating that the recovery of the reservoirs of the hydroelectric plants is in progress”, said the CMSE, in a note.
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