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The Minister of Mines and Energy has stated that both the auction for reserve capacity at thermal power plants and the auction for battery storage systems will be held later this year. Furthermore, the Ministry of Mines and Energy must submit the text of the electricity sector reform to the Civil House by the end of April. The ordinance for the reserve capacity auction (LRCAP) for battery storage systems is expected to be published by the end of May, Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira told reporters on Thursday (April 10) during the Energy Leaders Forum event in Rio de Janeiro. Now Im going to China to talk with Huawei and many other players were in talks with around the world to attract investment in batteries, Silveira said. The minister also said that the auction to reserve capacity for thermal power plants should still take place this year. According to Silveira, the Ministry of Energy Planning and Transitions Secretariat is working to resolve the doubts and issues raised in the legal appeals regarding the thermal power plant auction, which led to the cancellation of the tender. A new notice must be published within 60 days, according to the minister. Reform of the electricity sector The minister also announced that the text of the proposed electricity sector reform will be sent to the Civil Chamber at the end of this month. There is a lot of injustice in electricity rates. We need to rationalize the sectors costs and address the inequities in tariff structure. We will expand the social tariff and simplify the regulations. More than 60 million Brazilians will benefit from free consumption of up to 80 kW (kilowatts) per month. A true revolution in the electricity sector is about to take place, he stated. The minister emphasized the importance of efficient energy planning, focused on eliminating emergency contracting. Among the measures mentioned are also reducing tariffs to contain inflation, settling debts related to the COVID bill and water shortages, and closing legal disputes that jeopardize the countrys strategic interests. Alexandre Silveira also mentioned measures such as the investment of another 60 billion reais in transmission, which will generate more than 100,000 jobs, and the full integration of the country into the National Interconnected System (SIN), planned for this year, which will reduce diesel use in the Amazon. According to the minister, Brazil still needs to make progress in strengthening the national renewable energy generation infrastructure, modernizing distribution contracts, and holding new auctions to guarantee energy generation and storage capacity. He also highlighted the need to correct tariff distortions that impact the sectors balance. |
