Energy theft worries distributors amid rising electricity bills

With electricity bills increasingly high, Brazilian consumers have sought at all costs to save energy to guarantee extra income at the end of the month. It is no surprise, for example, that the demand for solar panels has grown in an overwhelming way this year. However, many people end up following another line of thought and even committing crimes to guarantee electricity without having to pay for it. This is the case of electricity theft, a procedure that is popularly known as “gato”.

In 2021, the number of incidents recorded by Brazilian concessionaires once again draws attention. A CPFL Paulista, for example, reported that, in the first half of this year alone, it has already identified around 14 energy frauds in all cities in its concession area. Compared to the same period in 2019, there was an increase of 35%. Compared to 2020, the number remained at the same level, largely due to the greater number of inspection actions.

In total, there were 51 property security measures in the first six months of 2021, with 1.145 police reports filed and 54 criminals taken to the police station. Among the municipalities with the highest volume of fraud identified in the first half of 2021, Campinas is in first place with 3.386 cases.

Right behind are Ribeirão Preto and Piracicaba, with 2.267 and 791 cases, respectively. For the projects of network shielding, metering shielding and regularization of clandestine consumers, CPFL reported that it expects an investment of R$1,02 billion by 2025, the largest ever made in the history of the concessionaire.

Other dealerships

A Cemig (Minas Gerais Energy Company) is another company in the energy sector that has also shown concern about the problem. On August 31, the concessionaire and the Civil Police carried out a task force in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte (MG) to reduce the damage caused to electricity bills and raise awareness among the population.

According to the company, from January to July this year, more than 225 thousand inspection services were carried out in consumer units, with a focus on regularization and ensuring measurement compliance. The loss caused by this type of crime in the state is R$ 390 million per year. In the southern region of Brazil, in turn, it is Copel (Paraná Energy Company) who is also concerned about the amount of energy theft.

The company reported that it counted around 10,3 thousand cats in the state of Paraná between January and August of this year. With around a quarter of the year still to go, the trend is that the rate could surpass the crimes recorded in the entire period of 2020, when around 16,2 thousand infractions were located between January and December. In relation to the twelve months of 2019, the current numbers will easily beat the almost 10,9 thousand occurrences recorded.

Losses

Brazilians have been living for some time with the economic impacts caused by rising electricity bills and energy thefts have further aggravated this scenario, as they burden the end consumer, as the deviation is passed on and “represents around 5% of the tariff value”, explains Dirceu Ferreira, specialist in energy generation and distribution.

According to ABRADEE (Brazilian Association of Energy Distributors), illegal connection is considered the second biggest cause of death in the country related to electricity. In addition to the financial problem, theft can cause equipment defects and increase the working time of employees in the field to correct fraudulent installations, harming consumers who depend on the resource.

In Ferreira's assessment, some simple actions could be taken by the Public Authorities to prevent the increase in energy theft in Brazil. “There are several solutions in the short, medium and long term. I highlight: reviewing the ICMS calculation method and reducing the percentages that apply to electrical energy; and also make investments and incentives in renewable energy, such as solar, through appropriate financing lines for this”, he pointed out.