The Chamber of Deputies entered a recess period this Friday (16), and the vote on PL 5829, which aims to create the Legal Framework for GD (distributed generation) in Brazil, can only be put to a vote from August onwards, with the resumption of parliamentarians' activities.
The text, authored by deputy Silas Câmara (Republicanos/AM) and reported by deputy Lafayette Andrada (Republicanos/MG), despite being discussed with society for almost two years, has been on and off since March 11 agenda without being voted on by the parliamentarians who make up the Legislative Branch.
In addition to the political divisions regarding the issue, another factor that made it difficult to vote on the project, before the recess period, was the hospitalization of rapporteur Lafayette due to Covid-19. The parliamentarian is still recovering from the illness.
The project seeks to offer more legal and regulatory security for the sustainable growth of the Brazilian electricity sector. The text basically extends the collection of charges and tariffs for the use of transmission and distribution systems to micro and mini energy generators. See the rapporteur's proposal here.
In the opinion of experts linked to the renewable sector, the approval of the document is more than necessary nowadays, given the risks of energy shortages for the population as a result of the current water crisis and others that may occur in the future. country.
Controversial projects approved
In the meantime, in which the GD Legal Framework has not been put to vote, other topics have been discussed and even approved by the Chamber of Deputies, such as, for example, the project that amends the Administrative Improbity Law, allowing public agents who are caught committing crimes only be punished if the intention to commit irregularity is proven.
This Thursday (15), one day before the recess, the National Congress also approved the proposal that increases from R$2 billion to R$5,7 billion the amount foreseen for the Special Campaign Financing Fund in 2022, the called electoral fund, which allocates resources to finance electoral political campaigns.
The increase in this value was only possible because parliamentarians included at the last minute in the LDO (Budget Guidelines Law) of 2022 a new calculation rule for the fund which, according to Congress technicians and parliamentarians, led to the new value. The LDO awaits the sanction of President Jair Bolsonaro.
Public Hearing
Last Tuesday (13), the CME (Mines and Energy Commission) of the Chamber of Deputies held a public hearing on the tariff impact of subsidies in the electricity sector, in response to the request of deputy Édio Lopes (PL/RR) , chairman of the commission.
The discussion focused on the effects on the electricity bill, mainly for captive consumers, who directly bear the incentives in force in the sector. Furthermore, the challenges of distributed energy generation and tariff incentives for renewable sources were discussed.
At Lopes' request, associations in the electricity sector were excluded from participating in the hearing so that the more technical arguments could be focused on, in the parliamentarian's view. In this context, Bill 5829 was mentioned in the presentations of all the guests, who avoided expressing criticism or suggestions for changes to the text, making it clear that the issue should be addressed by the National Congress.
The event also highlighted the concerns of some deputies regarding bottlenecks in the distribution fee system, especially in the northern region of the country. Participants concluded that measures need to be taken to improve the incentive system in the sector, but no concrete action was defined after the meeting.
Consumer Protection Commission
This week, the Consumer Defense Committee of the Chamber, chaired by deputy Celso Russomanno (Republicanos/SP), accepted a request, at the request of Deputy Gilson Marques (NOVO/SC), to include three guests in the public hearings of the Department with the objective of debating the impacts for consumers of electric energy of PL 5829.
The guests included were: Marcos Madureira, president of ABRADEE (Brazilian Association of Electric Energy Distributors); Bernardo Bezerra, regulatory director of Omega Energia; and congressman Felipe Rigoni (PSB/ES). Canal Solar, deputy Celso Russomanno highlighted that the hearing will be held in August, but did not provide the date.
