Starting This Tuesday, Electricity Bills Are Waived for CadÚnico Families Consuming Up to 80 kWh, With Charges Only on Excess

Written by Douglas Avila Published on 01/09/2026 at 18:32

Starting this Tuesday, electricity bills are waived for families on CadÚnico earning up to half a minimum wage per person and consuming up to 80 kilowatt-hours per month, with anyone exceeding that limit paying only for what exceeds, not the full bill.

This change stems from the new Social Electricity Tariff, established by Energy Regulatory Resolution 1.147/2025 of the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel). According to Aneel’s regulation, the discount is no longer proportional within brackets and has become a total exemption for up to 80 kWh per month, significantly changing the bills for those who consume little.

The income criterion is objective, applying to families registered in the Cadastro Único with earnings of up to half a minimum wage per person, which currently amounts to about R$ 810.50 per individual. Families with members receiving the Continuous Cash Benefit, as well as indigenous and quilombola families registered in CadÚnico, also qualify.

What 80 kilowatt-hours mean in practice

Eighty kWh per month is not much, and that’s precisely the point. It corresponds to the consumption of a small household with a refrigerator, some light bulbs, a television, and a shower used sparingly, plus a little more. This describes a family that already conserves energy out of necessity.

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The upper bracket also changed

There’s a second group, less discussed. Families registered in CadÚnico with incomes between half and one minimum wage per person, who consume up to 120 kWh per month, will now receive exemption from the charges of the Energy Development Account, known as CDE.

The CDE is one of those items that appears on the bill without many people knowing what it is. It funds policies in the electricity sector, from renewable energy subsidies to support for isolated regions, and is charged to every consumer. Removing this charge from those just above the threshold for exemption prevents the stair-step effect, where earning a little more instantly raises the electricity bill significantly.

This measure also affects families serviced by isolated systems in the North region, where generation costs are historically higher and where electricity bills weigh more on household budgets than in the rest of the country.

Starting this Tuesday, electricity bills are waived for families consuming up to 80 kWh and registered in CadÚnico — image 2

The detail that causes people to lose the benefit

There is a bureaucratic requirement that often disqualifies those who would be eligible, and it deserves attention. According to the resolution, the electricity bill must be in the name of someone who is part of the family registered in the CadÚnico or who receives the BPC. Moreover, the municipality registered in the system must be the same municipality as the consumer unit registered with the distributor.

It may seem like a minor detail, but it is not. Many low-income households have the bill in the name of a deceased relative, a former resident, or the landlord of the property. In these cases, the system does not match the registration with the customer, and the benefit simply is not applied, even if the family qualifies in every other way.

There is also a deadline for regularization. According to the rules released, families that needed to update their registration have until December 31, 2026 to do so, at risk of losing the discount. An outdated registration is the most common reason for exclusion from Brazilian social programs, and there is usually no individual notice before the cutoff.

Starting this Tuesday, the electricity bill is zero for those consuming up to 80 kWh and registered in the CadÚnico, — image 3

Why This Matters Beyond the Household Bill

Electricity is a type of expense that cannot be cut. Unlike transportation, leisure, or even food, it cannot be substituted: either the house has light, or it doesn’t. For this reason, the electricity bill is one of the first to become a debt when the budget tightens, and reconnecting after a cutoff costs more than the overdue bill.

Eliminating this expense for those who consume less alters the monthly budget for millions of households. The money that was tied up in the bill begins to circulate into other expenses, and the risk of default and disconnection decreases as well. For the distributor, a customer who is not disconnected is a customer who continues to be measured and billed, which reduces illegal connections.

It is worth noting what is still unclear. Aneel has not disclosed, in the consulted material, the exact number of families that will have their bills reduced to zero under the new rule, nor the estimated impact on sector revenue. Until this data is provided, what is known is the criteria, not the magnitude.

It is important to remember that free service does not mean turning off the meter. The unit continues to be read normally every month, and it is this reading that determines whether the consumption stayed within or exceeded the limit. Therefore, households that now have a zero bill must keep monitoring their consumption, as an atypical month, with a relative visiting or increased use of the shower in winter, could push the household beyond 80 kWh and cause charges to reappear.

It’s understandable why this change has gone relatively unnoticed: it does not come with announcements of a new program, but rather as a technical resolution amendment, published in regulatory language. Those who qualify usually find out on the next bill, not before. I can only imagine how many people will look at their September bill without knowing why the amount has decreased.

Do you know if your electricity bill is in the name of someone who actually lives in your home today?

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