2024-08-31 13:28:37
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilians will see their electricity bills rise in September after local power regulator Aneel decided to impose an extra charge on electricity bills due to falling water levels in hydroelectric plant reservoirs during Brazil’s dry season.
Although wind and solar power have grown in recent years in Latin America’s largest economy, Brazil still gets more than half of its electricity from hydroelectric plants.
Aneel implements a “Green”, “Yellow”, “Red Level 1” and “Red Level 2” pricing system.
“Green” means no additional charges for electricity, while starting from “yellow”, additional electricity charges will be gradually imposed, which has also triggered inflation concerns in the country.
In a statement late on Friday, the Brazilian state power company said it had decided to activate the “Red Level 2” tier in September, which means Brazilians will pay an extra 7.88 reais ($1.40) for every 100 kilowatt-hours of electricity they consume.
This is the first time Brazil has implemented “Red Level 2” since it suffered a severe drought in August 2021.
Anil said the move followed forecasts that rainfall in Brazil’s main hydroelectric regions would be 50% below average in September, which he noted would force generators to increase use of more expensive thermal plants.
In August, no additional charges were levied on consumers.
($1 = 5.6121 reais)
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