The Free Energy Market reached 37.377 consumer units at the end of October 2023, an increase of 23% in the last twelve months. This means that 6.925 units migrated from the Captive Market in the period. The information appears in the latest bulletin from ABRACEEL (Brazilian Association of Energy Traders).
Currently, Mercado Livre consumes 26.177 average MW, which represents 37% of Brazil's national energy consumption. There was a 7% increase in the last twelve months ending in October.
The Free Market is a business environment where consumers and suppliers negotiate energy prices freely. It contrasts with the Captive Market, where consumers are served exclusively by distributors and are required to pay a tariff defined by the distributor. ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency).
Since January 1, 2024, all companies connected in medium and high voltage (Group A) can now opt for the free contracting environment. This is because the new rules of Ordinance No. 50/22 of the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy) came into force. Before that, only large companies and industries had this option.
According to ABRACEEL's calculations, around 165 thousand consumer units will be able to migrate to Mercado Livre from this year onwards.
Minister criticizes opening of Mercado Livre in Davos
During the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the minister of the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy), Alexandre Silveira, said in an interview with the newspaper Valor Econômico, last Wednesday (17), that the opening of the Free Market occurred hastily in previous governments, contributing to creating distortions between the value of energy paid by residential consumers and companies.
Silveira, however, said that he does not intend to reverse the process of opening Mercado Livre. The idea is that in the future low voltage consumers (Group B) will also be able to negotiate energy prices freely, but first it is necessary to correct tariff distortions so that the higher cost of energy does not fall on the poorest population.
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