The board of directors of Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency) determined this Friday (24) that the green tariff flag will be maintained for July. This means that no extra fee will be charged on electricity bills. Since January 2015, bills have been subject to an extra charge, called the red flag, to compensate for higher costs to generate energy.
In recent months, this flag has been changing colors: Until January of this year, the flag was red and the extra fee was R$4,50 for every 100 kWh consumed; In February, it changed to the “pink” flag and the fee dropped to R$3 for every 100 kWh; In March, the flag changed to yellow and the fee dropped to R$1,50 for every 100 kWh; In April, the green flag came into effect and the extra fee was no longer charged. The fee stopped being charged in April after the federal government authorized the shutdown of thermoelectric plants, which are more expensive, due to the improvement in the situation of hydroelectric reservoirs.
Low rainfall means higher bills When there is little rainfall, the level of hydroelectric plant reservoirs drops, which reduces energy production. To compensate for this drop, the government orders the activation of coal-fired thermoelectric plants, which are more expensive. This is what has been happening in the country since 2013. The red flag was then created, this extra charge on the electricity bill to cover these higher costs in energy production. This year, the situation improved: it rained more and the volume of hydroelectric plant reservoirs increased.
Furthermore, household and industrial consumption has fallen, and new power plants have begun to operate. Even so, the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) is urging consumers to use electricity efficiently and combat waste.
UOL - 24/06/2016
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