Rising electricity bills could take away 456,000 jobs by 2022; solar energy goes against the grain

The rise in the value of electricity in Brazil, driven by the water crisis, is expected to cause the loss of around 456 thousand jobs, 166 thousand this year and 290 thousand in 2022. The data are from the report “Economic impact of the increase in the price of electrical energy”, published by the CNI (National Confederation of Industry) this Wednesday (3).

Furthermore, the Brazilian GDP (Gross Domestic Product) could suffer a drop of R$ 8.2 billion in 2021 and the forecast loss next year is R$ 14.2 billion, totaling R$ 22.4 billion.

The CNI projection also pointed out that the electricity bill is expected to rise by 6.77% in 2021 and increase by 18.8% in 2022, as a result of the creation of the “water scarcity flag” and energy tariff adjustments.

“The high cost of taxes and sectoral charges and regulatory errors have made the electrical energy paid by industry one of the most expensive in the world, which worries us greatly, as electrical energy is one of the main inputs for Brazilian industry. This increase in the cost of energy generation is passed on to consumers, with very negative impacts on the economy”, highlights Robson Braga de Andrade, president of CNI.

While the estimates for Brazilian consumers and workers are worrying, Rodrigo Sauaia, executive president of ABSOLAR (Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association), highlights that the photovoltaic sector has shown a different reality.

“Brazil is really going through a delicate situation, but solar energy is showing a light at the end of the tunnel. By the end of October 2021, we surpassed the mark of 11 GW in solar energy operations in Brazil. From 2012 to now, this represents R$ 57.2 billion in investments that have already been brought to the sector and moved in Brazil, in addition to the generation of 330 thousand jobs”, reports Rodrigo.

And most of these numbers were achieved between 2020 and 2021, explains the president. “In the midst of the pandemic, the solar sector was able to contribute very strongly to the advancement of the national economy and also to the generation of jobs and income in our country.” During this period alone, the sector generated 192 thousand jobs.

“If we look at the accumulated history [since 2012], the solar energy sector in Brazil has already brought R$ 15.2 billion in taxes and duties. Most of this in the last 2 years. We are in a different tone from the reality that the CNI projects for the national economy. Solar energy presents itself as hope, part of the solution and really a light at the end of the tunnel”, celebrates Sauaia.