Integrators, entrepreneurs and representatives of the solar energy sector held a demonstration this Tuesday (30) in front of the headquarters of Neoenergia Brasília, in the federal capital, to demand solutions for delays in processes related to GD (distributed generation).
According to ABES (Brasília Solar Energy Association), some cases have been pending for more than 600 days. The mobilization brought together more than 100 professionals from the sector and culminated in a meeting between representatives of the association and executives from the distributor.
In an interview with Canal SolarHugo Braga, a member of ABES, stated that the protest was motivated by the backlog of demands involving inspections, connections, billing, and customer service. “We have a lot of backlogged demand that Neoenergia wasn't addressing. Inspections have been ongoing for a long time, and the situation was already very bad. We have power plants waiting for connections for over a year,” he said.
According to Braga, the situation has worsened in recent months following changes to the distributor's internal systems. "About two months ago, Neoenergia changed its system. As a result, many consumers and companies operating in the energy market have faced difficulties, including cases where customers have stopped receiving the expected discounts," he stated.
Association identifies five problem groups
In a document presented during the meeting with Neoenergia's board of directors, ABES divided the sector's complaints into five major problem areas.
The first group involves technical and regulatory issues, including requirements for complete replacement of the entry standard even without an increase in load, lack of clear procedures for upgrading equipment in already approved projects, rejections considered outside the regulatory scope, and delays in issuing documents related to connection processes.
The organization also questions restrictions imposed by allegations of flow reversal without the presentation of corresponding technical studies.
The second group addresses issues related to customer service, such as the centralization of requests in a single channel, restrictions on specialized assistance, and difficulties in resolving issues involving projects, construction, billing, and regularization.
The third group deals with delays in construction and inspections, including cases of projects that have already been approved and completed but remain unable to begin operation, as well as the unavailability of equipment necessary for the connection.
The association also reports operational failures in the distributor's project portal, such as system instability, difficulties in updating projects, and successive rejections.
Finally, ABES points out problems related to billing and compensation of energy credits, including delays in issuing invoices, system inconsistencies, disappearance of credits after system migration, and measurement errors.
Neoenergia commits to creating customer service channels.
As a result of the meeting, Neoenergia Brasília committed to creating exclusive service channels for specific demands of the solar sector. This measure should cover inspection processes and issues related to billing and energy credit compensation.
In a statement, the company informed that "it is in the process of updating its systems to modernize customer service and improve process management. During this transition, impacts were recorded, especially in billing and credit compensation, which are already being addressed as a priority," it pointed out.
Neoenergia also emphasized that connecting solar power plants involves technical and regulatory steps, ranging from project analysis to connection and operationalization of credits.
“Currently, about 50% of the projects submitted by clients have technical issues that require adjustments and new inspections, impacting completion deadlines. The distributor continues to strengthen teams, accelerate analyses, and improve processes, with a commitment to correcting inconsistencies, increasing predictability, and continuously improving the experience of clients and partners in the sector,” the company emphasized.
all the content of Canal Solar is protected by copyright law, and partial or total reproduction of this site in any medium is expressly prohibited. If you are interested in collaborating or reusing part of our material, please contact us by email: redacao@canalsolar.com.br.
Answers of 8
I'm facing the same problem, even though I've had the project approved since March. I changed the standard and the incoming wiring to comply with regulations in April, and so far the connection of the new standard to the grid and the installation of the inverter meter are still missing, also since April.
Neoenergia blocked me from accessing the distributed generation (DG) panel for almost a year. When I tried to log in, it said the password was incorrect, but the password wasn't there. I had already accessed it multiple times, and all the usernames and passwords we have for the utilities we work with are saved on Trello to streamline the process when creating projects and submitting them to the platforms. Incredibly, the platform's password recovery system didn't work. I collected countless emails and complaints on every possible platform, and nothing. A complete lack of care. And on the phone, nobody knew anything. Until one day a colleague forwarded my email to the IT department, and they resolved it overnight. After almost a year of spending money with other companies to get our projects approved, and being unable to work on approving third-party projects. A terrible company and terrible management by Neoenergia.
This is absurd, I've been waiting for 6 months for Neoenergia in Ilhéus to make the connection and nothing, they don't even give a reason.
Neoenergia's service is not good. I've been requesting an inspection of my collective panel for almost two months and nothing has happened so far. The protocol is registered, but the inspection never comes. There's conflicting information between in-person service and the 116 hotline. When I call 116, I only get the information that they can't verify my request; the system is under update for 24 hours. The same situation occurs when I call after 24 hours and still nothing.
The customer service channel for distributed generation (DG) already exists via WhatsApp and a toll-free number; it also needs to be extended to branches, as branches do not handle DG requests.
The problem with the existing channel is that it doesn't solve the problem or point to a solution; it gives vague answers with deadlines that are completely out of line with current regulations.
And there's no point in filing a complaint, because they never resolve anything.
And it's because of the greed of some people wanting to make money with solar parks that micro-generators in homes will suffer because of this. The fallacy of saying they are defending the consumer who adopted their generation to have a little more comfort is just talk in interviews.
Congratulations ABES DF! Congratulations President Lucas and Board of Directors! Crea DF is following along! We will also be monitoring the situation with Neoenergia DF, according to the sector's demands! After all, in addition to its mission of oversight, the council's purpose is to value professionals in their right to practice in order to generate employment and income in the Federal District with energy security.
Silvio Roberto Sakata
Technical Analysis Manager at Crea DF
Coordinator of the ESG Committee of Crea DF
President Director of ABES DF
Advisor to ABEE DF – Brazilian Association of Electrical Engineers of the Federal District
Wait, wasn't privatization the only way to improve things?