According to the Minister of Mines and Energy, the ONS report showed a 5% increase in demand for energy in industry and commerce
After the Ministry of Mines and Energy announcing that he will propose to the government the return of daylight saving time to preserve the electrical system with the worsening drought, Minister Alexandre Silveira said that the measure could help maintain the country’s growth.
Silveira said to Poder360 that the report of ONS (National Electric System Operator) showed 5% growth in demand for energy in industry and commerce from August 2023 to August 2024.
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“It is the result of the country’s return to growth. By preserving energy matrices, daylight saving time also helps to maintain growth.“, he said.
THE CMSE (Electric Sector Monitoring Committee), linked to the ministry, was the one who produced the recommendation. The final decision will be up to the president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT).
“Adopting daylight saving time will help the country grow. This is a time when we see the economy demanding more energy. The measure will help the GDP grow.”, reinforced Silveira.
Daylight Saving Time
The possibility of a return to daylight saving time due to the drought was anticipated by Poder360 in September 11. In an interview with this digital newspaper, Silveira said that the country is facing the worst drought in the last 94 years and, therefore, no possibility can be ruled out – including daylight saving time.
At the time, the minister stated that when there is a risk of power outages, daylight saving time is 100% necessary, but that this is not the case in the current scenario. Therefore, the activation of the mechanism would depend on a combination of factors. He assessed that this could help relieve the system, diluting the peak consumption in the early evening, when the solar source stops generating.
Silveira explained: “When daylight saving time is used, this demand and the need to dispatch thermal plants are diluted. When people are freed from work, they can enjoy shopping, the beach and other daylight activities more. There is a gain in energy costs. And there is also an increase in energy security because it reserves more thermal capacity to be used in other events.”
The special timetable was created for the first time in 1931, during the government of Getúlio Vargas (1882-1954), or when it returned permanently in 1985, during the administration Jose Sarneyafter spending years without being adopted. He is suspended since 2019 by government decision Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
The mechanism is surrounded by controversy, both in popular opinion and among experts, regarding its effectiveness in helping the electrical system. Analysts in the electrical sector state that the special timetable no longer has any reason to exist today because it no longer provides more protection to the system, which is why it was created, nor does it reduce energy consumption.
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