The cost of subsidies for energy transmission, which is part of the tariff paid by all consumers, grew by 162% in 4 years. data of CCEE (Chamber of Electric Energy Trading) show that the charge to cover discounts on the TUST (Tariff for the Use of the Transmission System) went from BRL 370 million in 2018 to almost BRL 1 billion last year.
These discounts have been granted for years to renewable energy sources. Most of the costs refer mainly to wind and solar generation. The forecast for this year, according to the budget prepared by the ring (National Electric Energy Agency) to the CDE (Energy Development Account), is that the impact of this charge for consumers is R$ 1.75 billion.
Solar plants are mainly concentrated in Minas Gerais, Bahia, Piauí and Pernambuco. And wind farms mainly in Rio Grande do Norte, Bahia, Ceará and Piauí. As the so-called centers with the greatest load – that is, the urban centers with the greatest demand for energy – are found in the Southeast and Midwest, the energy produced by these projects needs thousands of kilometers of transmission lines, which will drain it. up to consumers.
The result is that, the more wind and solar projects are built, the more lines are needed and, therefore, the higher the values embedded in the electricity bill, both because of the transmission tariff itself and because of the charge to cover the electricity bills. 50% to 100% discounts to which these projects are entitled.
In 10 years, the share of transmission costs in the residential tariff has more than doubled. Charges increased by 62%. The amounts that consumers pay to pay for discounts on renewable sources were one of the main factors responsible for the advance.
Cross-subsidies associated with renewable sources began in 1998, still in the Fernando Henrique Cardoso (PSDB). They started to be valid only for small hydroelectric plants (SHPs), but, over the years, they were extended to other generations. In the case of solar energy, significant growth started in 2017.
DSince 2014 there have been failed attempts to extinguish them. One report 2015 from the Senate legislative consultancy showed that discounts were no longer necessary for these sources because they had already become competitive in energy auctions, especially wind energy.
the discounts only came to an end last year. But on paper. The government gave a period of 1 year for enterprises to still be entitled to the benefit.
Here’s the result:
- the amount – around 3,000 plants that start operating from 2026 to 2027 may be entitled to the discount;
- potency – the projects represent approximately 180 GW of installed capacity, equivalent to another Brazilian electricity matrix.
These more than 3,000 enterprises that filed grant requests to Aneel caused a bottleneck in the sector, as shown by the Power 360. Specialists estimate that less than 20% of them should materialize, either due to lack of connection points to the network or insufficient demand.
Delberis Lima, professor and director of the Electrical Engineering department at PUC-Rio, says that the further a power plant is from demand, the greater the so-called locational signal, that is, the cost embedded in the tariff for the intense use of the electrical system. .
“Our generation started to go more to the Northeast, with wind farms, and to the North, with hydroelectric plants. That is, sources far from the load center. Those sources would have a very high locational signal at rates because you need more transmission.”said Delberis.
According to Lima, the discount on tariffs was the way the government found to encourage these sources and make their tariffs viable. He claims, however, that this objective has already been accomplished.
“Subsidies have a very well defined function, which is to promote a type of source, which is still incipient. From there, it is necessary to withdraw subsidies in a sustainable way because the purpose has already been achieved“, said Delberis.
According to Rômulo Ristow, a power systems engineer, energy transmission companies are paid by multiplying the price of the power injected into their system, by a given plant, by the transmission tariff. All broadcasters in the country are remunerated in this way and the amount owed to them is paid by all consumers and producers. But the subsidies are paid only by regulated consumers, that is, the traditional ones, served by the distributors.
“The sum of the permitted annual revenues, owed to the broadcasters, has to be paid anyway. The account has to close. This discount has a huge impact on the project. And someone has to pay. So this goes to the consumer via charge“, said Ristow.
O Power 360 questioned the Ministry of Mines and Energy about the advance of costs with transmission tariffs and subsidies related to renewable sources, but received no response until the conclusion of this report. The space remains open.
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