The biggest power contract in history is expected to result in an annual cost of R$48 billion from 2032
Residential consumers’ pockets will feel the impact of a dispute that has been going on for 3 years in the electricity sector. The (National Electric Energy Agency) approved this Tuesday (June 9, 2026) what the government did in March. Oertame contracted almost 20 GW of power to guarantee service at peak times.
The measure will cost R$48 billion per year in tariffs at the beginning of the next decade. The billion-dollar transfer will serve to remunerate producers for the “availability” of energy. Unlike common auctions, in which the country buys the light actually consumed, in this model the consumer pays for the plants to be on stand-by, ready to supply the national interconnected system (SIN) in the event of a peak in demand.
INCREASE SCHEDULE
Projections from consultancy firm TR Soluções indicate that the fixed cost of the event will push rates up in a phased manner. In 2032, when all capacity is operating, the impact on Brazil’s average tariff will be 8.4%. But the weight will not be uniform:
- residential (B1): ordinary consumers and small businesses will have an average increase of 7.5% in the final application tariff;
- medium voltage (A4): for medium-sized industries and businesses, the impact will be more severe, reaching 10.3%;
- high voltage (A2): Large industries will suffer the biggest regulatory shock, with an estimated 13.5% increase in invoices.
The price increase curve begins with a discrete average increase of 0.4% in 2026. The impact intensifies from 2029 onwards, when most plants begin commercial operations. At the top of the scale, in 2032, the total cost of the country’s power insurance (adding the 2021 auction) will reach R$53 billion annually, matching the weight of the Energy Development Account (CDE).
JUDICIAL ARM MATCH
The approval by the Aneel board was surrounded by legal tension. On Monday (June 8), the Federal Court of Ceará issued an injunction. The knot was untied by an opinion from the Federal Regional Attorney’s Office of the 5th Region, which concluded that the suspension lost its purpose because the Federal District Court had already validated the event in another instance.
The volume of power purchased by electrical companies in the March tender was distributed over different contractual validity periods. The largest portion of capacity, totaling 11,368 MW, assumed long-term commitments with 15 years of supply. Another 7,707 MW were contracted for a period of 10 years, while the smaller batch, of 403 MW, will be valid for 3 years.
