The Brazilian bill empowering low-income consumers through solar innovation

Brazil's congress is analyzing a bill (PL 624) that addresses the financing and installation of photovoltaic energy systems for low-income consumers. 

The legislative proposal, which establishes the basic energy income program (Rebe), provides housing units for families with lower purchasing power with solar generation equipment. 

The president of the local distributed generation association (ABGD), Carlos Evangelista, tells BNamericas how the bill will boost the segment if approved.

BNamericas: How important is bill 624 for the distributed solar generation segment?

Evangelista: The Rebe program allows families with lower purchasing power to use solar energy during the day free of charge, paying only for nighttime consumption. This measure not only eases the burden of energy bills for these families, but also encourages the use of clean, renewable energy.

By increasing the share of renewable sources in the energy matrix, the program reduces Brazil's dependence on polluting thermal energy sources, which account for 18% of the national energy matrix, strengthening energy security and contributing to the country's energy transition.

The distributed generation [DG] boosted by the project can lead to greater stability in power supply, minimizing the risks of blackouts and price fluctuations that affect the economy and the population's quality of life. 

In 2024, according to the national grid operator ONS, the daily variation in energy demand, between the minimum and maximum per hour, is around 25GW, with expectations that it will reach 50GW by 2028. 

Energy generation, combined with energy storage, is part of the solution to this problem, with the possibility of investments of up to 150 billion reais [US$27.4bn] in DG plants with storage systems by 2030, according to ABGD estimates.

BNamericas: Does the bill contain any items that could harm the market in ABGD's view? Any kind of “jabuti”?

Evangelista: We don't see any jabutis that could harm the sector. It's important to point out that ABGD doesn't support jabutis of any kind. We don't even propose or support the occasional jabutis that appear from time to time in the sector, firstly because we think this causes a distortion and an imbalance in the way issues are dealt with, and secondly because we don't believe this is the best way to take constructive proposals forward.

Editor’s note: In Brazil, jabutis are articles or earmarks introduced into the text of a bill that are unrelated to the subject of proposed legislation. Parliamentarians use this strategy to approve issues of interest to certain groups or sectors, taking advantage of the negotiations to gain approval for them.

BNamericas: What other bills in congress are of interest to the sector?

Evangelista: Currently, more than 55 legislative proposals that directly impact MMGD [distributed micro and mini-generation] are being processed in the national congress. Among them, we highlight initiatives aimed at regulating the sale of electricity credits from MMGD (PL 315/24); limiting distributed generation per concession area and changing the rules for renewing concessions (PL 4831/23); and PL 2.458/22, which extends the deadline for completing mini-generation projects to 30 months. 

Other cross-cutting issues have a direct impact on the MMGD, especially tax reform regulations and changes to environmental and labor laws, for example. 

Finally, there are several regulatory agendas within the executive branch, including: regulation of Reidi for mini-generation by [electric power watchdog Aneel], valuation of DG benefits by [energy policy council] CNPE as well as several other processes that deal with improving normative resolutions 1,000 and 1,059, which regulate MMGD.