Limit for payment without the cut will apply to the 336 municipalities in a calamity situation; In other cities, the extra period will be 30 days
Electricity consumers in Rio Grande do Sul will have an extra period of up to 90 days to pay electricity tariffs. The flexibility was approved by the Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency) this Tuesday (May 14, 2024) due to the public calamity caused by floods that have already killed 148 people in the State.
By decision of the agency, distributors will not be able to suspend supply due to lack of payment for 90 days in the case of the 336 municipalities that are in a situation of public calamity. For other cities in Rio Grande do Sul, there will be an extra period of 30 days. Here’s the complete of the vote (PDF – 984 kB).
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Director Agnes Costa, rapporteur of the process, stated that consumers who are unable to make payment will continue to be served. Consumers will be invoiced (charged), but will not be able to have their service cut off for 90 or 30 days.
Agnes had already explained this Tuesday that it is not a question of extinguishing the charge. “It’s not about forgiving the debt, because that would require public policy, just as it was done during the Covid era. But give a deadline, like 30 days or 90 days, so that he doesn’t have to worry about defaulting and having his power cut off.”.
Suspension of contracts
The agency also authorized energy distributors to temporarily suspend contracts with those consumer units that were destroyed by the floods. During this period, no charges can be made to customers. Subsequently, consumers will be able to request the end of the suspension.
The distributors had requested termination of contracts. But Aneel considered the measure extreme. “As there was a lot of total destruction, the company may suspend contracts. It is not closing because eventually this consumer may return, but suspending all these rights and obligations during this period of instability”said Agnes.
Distribution companies will also have more flexible rules for delivering invoices and meter readings. They will be exempt for 3 months from paying part of the CDE (Energy Development Account) subsidies by the distributors, which will provide cash relief of around R$700 million.
Aneel directors stated that the relaxation of rules is not new and has already been applied, also on an exceptional basis, during the covid pandemic. He also recalled that there is a normative resolution from the agency that relaxes some rules in the case of extraordinary events like this.
Government evaluates exemption
The government Analyzes paths to broader measurement that makes it possible to discount or even forgive invoices to the most affected consumers in Rio Grande do Sul. On Friday (May 10), the minister Alexandre Silveira said that mechanisms are being studied to seek resources to reduce or avoid the charge.
Among the options under analysis is the use of part of the surplus from the Electricity Trading Account of the power plant Itaipu. In 2023, the balance was positive at R$399.2 million, according to Aneel.
Another possibility is to make the use of energy efficiency investment resources from distributors in Rio Grande do Sul more flexible, using part of the funds to reduce tariffs.
At Aneel, another work front will evaluate ways to use resources from the Energy Efficiency Program, a mandatory investment by distributors, to purchase electrical equipment for the most affected families.
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