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A Proposal Under Study by the Federal Government Could Benefit Up to 60 Million Brazilians with Total Exemption from Electricity Bills. The Measure Primarily Targets Low-Income Families
According to Folha de São Paulo, the federal government is studying a broad reform in the electricity sector that could benefit up to 60 million Brazilians with total exemption from electricity bills. The proposal, announced by the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, represents a profound change in the country’s social tariff policy.
Exemption for Consumption Up to 80 kWh
Today, about 40 million Brazilians receive discounts on the social electricity tariff, with reductions of up to 65%.
Only Indigenous and quilombola communities currently enjoy full exemption. The new proposal, according to Silveira, would expand this benefit to all consumers with a monthly consumption of up to 80 kilowatt-hours (kWh).
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According to the minister, this level of consumption is enough to meet the needs of families that have basic appliances, such as refrigerators, electric showers, irons, televisions, cell phone chargers, and lighting in six rooms.
The estimate is that the measure will reach a significant number of low-income families across the country.
Clash with the Ministry of Finance
Despite the social objective of the proposal, it already faces resistance within the government itself.
The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, opposes the use of the Oil Social Fund to finance the new subsidies.
The fund, which currently helps to compose the federal government’s primary surplus, had its uses recently relaxed by a provisional measure from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Silveira, on the other hand, argues that it’s necessary to change the current logic of tariff collection, which he considers unfair.
Reduction of CDE for CadÚnico Registrants
Another point of the proposal is the exemption of the CDE (Energy Development Account) for consumers registered in CadÚnico with an income of up to one minimum wage.
This charge is applied to electricity bills and is used to fund sector subsidies, such as the social tariff itself.
The estimate from Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency) is that the CDE will cost R$ 40 billion to consumers in 2025.
To compensate for the cuts, the ministry proposes to exclude some costs from the CDE and transfer part of the expenses to the Social Fund.
It also considers withdrawing benefits from currently incentivized sectors, such as the self-generation of renewable energies, and redistributing system security costs.
The Goal is to Open the Energy Market
In addition to its social focus, the reform aims to prepare the electricity sector for a complete market opening. The goal is to allow all consumers to choose their energy supplier, as is already the case in the telecommunications sector. Currently, this possibility is restricted to large consumers.
The proposal has the support of authorities in the electricity sector, such as the director-general of Aneel, Sandoval Feitosa.
He noted that the last major reform in the sector occurred during Lula’s first government and argued that the model needs to be adapted to new technologies and consumption realities.
Feitosa also supported the combination of Treasury resources and subsidy cuts to ensure broader access to the social tariff.
The idea is for the proposal to be submitted to the Civil House by the end of this month. The Ministry of Mines and Energy expects the text to reach Congress by the first semester of 2025.
The topic promises to generate intense discussions in the coming months, especially given the pressure for tariff justice and the need to modernize the sector.
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