Efeitos da covid-19 no setor elétrico brasileiro

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic significantly changed the national scenario, in the social and economic spheres. The economic sectors were affected by the mitigation measures resulting from the regulatory changes that occurred and the change in electricity consumption, whic consequently also affected family income, due to the increase in the unemployment rate during the period. Several sectors suffered the impact caused by the pandemic, including the electricity sector. The decrease in energy consumption in two large sectors, combined with the economic downturn and the increase in consumer defaults, caused a reduction in distributors' revenue, which led to the creation of the Covid Account, as a result of which sectoral agents implemented measures that sought to help concessionaires and licensees of the public electricity distribution service to minimize the impact of these problems. This work's main objective is to analyze the impact of the pandemic on the Brazilian electricity sector during this period, presenting data on electricity consumption in the residential, industrial and commercial sectors, changes in energy generation, the impact caused to the environment and measures were adopted by the granting authority in order to minimize these impacts. As a methodology, bibliographical and documentary research was carried out, using technical notes from the National System Operator (ONS) and information from the Electric Energy Regulatory Agency (ANEEL), the data presented in the course of the work were taken from the Energy Research Company database. (EPE), the Greenhouse Gas Emission Estimation System (SEEG) and the ONS, published between the years 2019 and 2021. Therefore, it can be concluded that the measures adopted brought some benefits to consumers during the pandemic period, considering that it reduced tariff adjustments and promoted greater cash liquidity for distribution companies, thus promoting the economic-financial balance of the concessions. However, it is important to highlight that all the measures adopted were only valid for the pandemic period, that is, after the virus retracted, these measures were extinguished, consumers started to bear their own expenses, including the tariff increase on energy bills. electricity, and the distributors were left with a debt resulting from the loan obtained during the pandemic.