Taxes and charges had a weight of 46.2% in the revenues of companies in the electricity sector in 2023, a reduction compared to 2022, when this percentage was 48.1% in relation to the companies’ gross operating revenue. The data comes from a study by Instituto Acende Brasil, in partnership with PwC.
The drop is due to complementary law 194/2022, which classified electricity as an essential good. Thus, ICMS rates were reduced.
Among the states with the highest ICMS rates in 2023 are Piauí and Bahia, with a percentage of 27%. In the case of Bahia, there was a significant increase in the rate, which was 18% in 2022.
The lowest ICMS rates are set at 17%, in the states of Espírito Santo, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina.
Existing subsidies
The research was based on public information from 47 generation, transmission and distribution agents, which control 68% of the market.
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Taxes and charges paid by the companies analyzed reached R$107.9 billion in 2023. Energy distributors accounted for R$73 billion, while generators had expenses of R$27.8 billion and transmission companies paid R$8. 4 billion.
The Energy Development Account (CDE) corresponded to 12.9% of the charges and taxes paid by companies in the sector in 2023. There was a decrease, since, in 2022, this obligation represented 13.4%.
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The CDE brings together most of the existing subsidies in the electricity tariff, intended for public policies.
Variation for next year
The research points out that there are factors that could affect the average tax rate for the year 2024, to be analyzed in the next study.
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Among the main items are a possible domino effect of an increase in state rates following the change in legislation that began to recognize the essentiality of electrical energy. In addition, tariffs for using transmission and distribution systems (TUST and TUSD) are also under discussion in court and may be subject to increases.
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Another possible impact is the extension of the deadlines for TUST and TUSD discounts from incentivized sources, provided for by provisional measure 1,212/2024, which has lost its validity. But the topic may return to debate if it follows the progress of bill no. 1,956/2024, with provisions to extend subsidies.
