One in every four homes that installed solar panels in 2023 will not be able to connect their energy generation system to the local distributor’s electrical grid.
The connection is necessary so that the energy produced in homes by solar panels is injected into the electrical grid and, thus, residents can use the benefits granted to those who have distributed microgeneration.
According to a sector survey, the number of new connections to distribution networks fell from 802 thousand, in 2022, to 686 thousand last year.
The study was carried out by Aliança Solar, a group led by the National Institute of Clean Energy (Inel) and Movimento Solar Livre (MSL), based on data from the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel).
Múcio Acerbi, consultant and civil engineer and electrician responsible for the research, explains that connection requests were refused by the distributors under the allegation of “flow reversal”. The argument is that the energy production of the panels is greater than the local demand, which means that the energy from the mini-generators is rejected.
Minas Gerais, Alagoas and Rio Grande do Sul were the states that, proportionally, registered the most allegations of flow reversal by the electricity distributor – with 63%, 46% and 45%, respectively.
By not sending energy to the grid, homes cannot access the discounts made possible by distributed microgeneration. The issue, according to the sector, is that refusals do not occur with subsidiary companies or partners of distributors.
“The problem [das recusas]however, it does not seem to affect the businesses of concessionaires and their subsidiaries, which continue to offer, sell and install photovoltaic systems normally”, says an excerpt from the study, which sees loopholes for unfair competition.
In March, federal deputy Marcelo Freitas (União Brasil-MG) took a bill to the Chamber of Deputies to prevent the participation of energy distributors and licensees in the distributed generation market.
The justification for PL 671/2024 is that the creation of subsidiaries of this type by distributors can create “situations of monopoly and unfair competition, occupying spaces that should be destined for small generators”. On November 14, the Mines and Energy Committee (CME) of the Chamber of Deputies decided to postpone the vote on the project.
The other side: distributors talk about excess energy and subsidies
In response to complaints from microgenerators, the Brazilian Association of Electricity Distributors (Abradee) reports that concessionaires do not cut distributed generation load. What happens, according to the entity’s president, Marcos Madureira, is that the electrical system does not accommodate the excess energy currently produced by microgeneration.
“It’s not a problem whether the distributor is denying it or not, the electrical system has limitations. The electrical difficulty does not allow some connections to be made”, he argues.
Madureira questions the research database and states that the excess volume is the result of the “exaggerated” subsidy to distributed generation, which, he emphasizes, is paid by all Brazilians. The benefit is paid with resources from the Energy Development Account (CDE) fund, which represents more than 13% of consumers’ electricity bills.
The executive also points out that there is no competition, as the volume of energy produced by the groups in which the concessionaires are included is greater than that of microgenerators.
“Distributed generation does not pay to use the electrical system. There is a generation that is being implemented based on heavy subsidies and, as a result, has brought some bottlenecks, natural to the electrical system. It’s reaching its limit and it doesn’t matter who owns it”, adds Madureira.
Acerbi, from Aliança Solar, says that the inversion of power flow, technically, does not represent a direct threat to the stability of electrical systems.
“Power flow control is largely managed by reference buses and regulatory devices, without harm to the network. The systematic rejection of connections based on reverse flow lacks technical foundation and must be reviewed to promote the sustainable expansion of distributed generation”.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) said that the connection of distributed micro and minigeneration systems with solar panels is a process regulated by Aneel, which establishes standards and procedures. Wanted by People’s GazetteAneel did not respond until the publication of this report.
