Data presented by ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency) and by energy distributors in the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday night (17) show that Brazilian consumers paid more than R$ 7 billion per year, in 2024 and 2025, to cover the costs of so-called non-technical losses in the electricity sector.
This category includes energy theft, popularly known as "illegal connections," as well as clandestine connections, direct diversions from the grid, and fraud related to meter tampering. According to... ANEELIn 2024 alone, non-technical losses totaled approximately 40 TWh, equivalent to 6,6% of all energy injected into the country.
The total loss reached R$ 10,3 billion, of which R$ 7,1 billion was passed on to consumers through tariffs, while R$ 3,3 billion was absorbed by distributors and R$ 1 billion corresponded to taxes that were not collected by the government.
During a hearing of the External Committee of the "Legal Brazil" Agenda, the manager of economic regulation of ANEELFlávia Pederneiras explained how the Agency defines the portion of these costs that can be incorporated into energy tariffs.
“Do we acknowledge all theft and pass it on to the tariff? No. We analyze these 51 distributors and rank them. The more complex the distributor's area, the more difficult it is to combat theft. So, we benchmark the distributors to pass on the amount of technical loss to the tariff,” she said.
According to the data presented, the problem is more serious in the North and Southeast regions, which have average non-technical losses of approximately 19,5% and 6,6%, respectively. A distributor from Amazonas and another from Rio de Janeiro lead the ranking of losses.
“The Amazonas Energia tariff could be almost 13% lower if it weren't for electricity theft. In other words, for every R$ 8,00 of the tariff that the consumer in Amazonas pays, R$ 1,00 goes to finance electricity theft. The Light residential tariff could be 9,1% cheaper if it weren't for the theft,” Flávia highlighted.
Onofre de Albuquerque Neto, regulatory advisor at Abradee (Brazilian Association of Electric Energy Distributors), stated during the session that more than 25 cases of energy theft were recorded in 2025, an average of nearly three cases per hour.
According to him, in addition to financial losses, the cases also contribute to an increase in accidents and power outages. The Abradee representative also stated that he hopes that... Law No. 15.181 / 2025The law, which increased penalties for energy theft and robbery, should contribute to reducing the observed rates in the coming years. "We need to move forward on this issue to advance legality in Brazil," he emphasized.
With information from Agência Câmara.
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