Viabilidade financeira de migração para o mercado livre de energia: estudo de caso em unidades consumidoras do serviço de tratamento de água e esgoto do Ceará

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the feasibility of migrating to the Free Contracting Environment (ACL) for consumer units in the water and sewage treatment sector in the state of Ceará, Brazil. Given the ongoing liberalization of the electricity market in Brazil, the study evaluated the potential economic and operational benefits of this migration, especially for Group A consumers, who were granted unrestricted access to the ACL starting in January 2024, in accordance with current regulations. The adopted methodology included the analysis of the consumption profile of three consumer units, cost modeling under the Regulated Contracting Environment (ACR) and the ACL, as well as the simulation of the break-even point and calculation of the payback period for the required initial investment. The results demonstrated that, for the three analyzed case studies, migration to the ACL provided an average cost reduction of 41.17% during the period from January 2023 to December 2028. It was estimated that the total savings from joining the ACL reached R$ 12,726,066.03. The study concluded that, for the public sanitation sector, joining the free energy market—especially when associated with the use of incentivized energy and retailer-based contracting—represented a financially advantageous and technically viable alternative, contributing to the economic and energy sustainability of the involved institutions.