EN 
PT_BR 
The CCEE (Electric Energy Trading Chamber), operator of the Brazilian electricity sector, announced that there was an increase in consumption of 2.8% on the free market in 2020.
According to the operator, the result was impacted by the migration of consumers between contracting environments, which saw the addition of 1,522 agents and 5,239 consumer units last year.
For Pedro Dante, a lawyer specializing in the energy sector at Lefosse, closing a contract in the ACL (Free Contracting Environment) is being very attractive for consumers.
“This opportunity in the free market comes with an impact on the price of the tariff. As we have had a reduction in demand, there is energy left over due to the industry's downturn due to Covid-19. When the consumer goes to the ACL, it has predictability. Therefore, economic reality is driving companies to look for partners in this environment”, highlighted the lawyer.
CCEE grows by 19% in 2020
CCEE had an increase of 19% in the number of members in 2020, totaling 10,734 agents. Growth was driven by the new wave of consumer migration to the free market, which reached the second highest mark in history.
In total, there were 1,732 consumer migrations from the ACL (Regulated Contracting Environment) in the year, totaling 1,618 special and 114 free. This led to an expansion of 23% in the number of specials, which now number 7,556. The volume of free consumers, in turn, increased by 11%, reaching 1,023.
“There were 66 new suppliers joining, totaling 397, 16% more than in 2019, and 155 independent energy producers, an increase of 14.8%, bringing the total number to 1,590. Six self-producers were also registered, which now totals 78, and one generator as a public service”, pointed out the Chamber.
CCEE closed 2020 with 26 retail suppliers qualified to operate. Another 32 requests are under analysis. Outlining a future perspective, the association hopes that in 2021 the numbers will continue to expand.
Electricity consumption falls in 2020
Due to the impact of the coronavirus on the economy, electricity consumption was 1.5% lower in the period compared to 2019, the association pointed out.
The survey by region pointed to the states of Bahia, Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro as the most impacted by the decline. The three recorded drops close to 5% compared to 2019.
The states of Pará, Mato Grosso and Amazonas lead the list of biggest increases, with growth of 6%, 5% and 3%, respectively.
“In the last four to five months, there has been a rapid recovery, especially in the high-consumption sectors. Even so, April, May and the beginning of June were very bad in terms of consumption in the production, goods and services sectors”, said Rui Altieri, president of the CCEE Board of Directors.
“At that time we believed that we would be 5% to 6% below 2019. Given the circumstances, a reduction of 1.5% is encouraging data”, he highlighted.
Generation
Regarding generation behavior, there was a reduction of 1.6% in the SIN (National Interconnected System), going from a production of 64,637.5 average MW in 2019 to 63,596.8 average MW in 2020.
Among the sources, a reduction was observed in the comparison between last year and 2019 for thermal plants, of -7.1%, and for hydroelectric plants, of – 0.9%.
On the other hand, wind farms increased by 1.5% and solar plants recorded an expansion of 19.3%. According to CCEE, the result of both is explained by climate issues and the expansion of production parks.
