Um estudo sobre regulação do setor elétrico no Brasil e preços de Ramsey-Boiteux: o caso do estado do Ceará

Abstract

The privatization process initiated in the 90’s had in the sector of electric energy, which has characteristics of natural monopoly in the transmission and distribution sectors, its great booster. These privatizations brought together the need of the regulation of the electric sector, in a way to benefit not only the consumer, but also the companies that were investing on the consumer. To accomplish this objective, the regulating agencies use several tax regulation mechanisms. One example in Brazil is the price-caps, as one of the mechanisms adopted by the ANEEL - The Brazilian regulating agency. This article is based on the Ramsey-Boiteux’s theory of prices for the natural monopoly of distribution of electric energy in the State of the Ceará divided in two markets: residential and non-residential market. Despite the difficulties of this theory, its application is wide and increasing and it is limited to public services. It may be applied to market economies and may be extended to non-profit organizations, which would have as a constraint in its objective function, a possible negative profit, instead of null profit or competitive profit, which is in accordance with the issues of allocative efficiency as a basic condition to the achievement of its objectives.