EN 
PT_BR 
The electricity bill became more expensive this Monday (04) for consumers in 24 municipalities in the State of São Paulo, linked to the Enel-SP concession area. In total, more than 18 million people will be directly impacted.
The average increase was approved by the ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency) on June 28th and will be 12.04%, 18.03% for consumers in the high voltage group (industries and large businesses) and 10.15% for low voltage customers (mostly residential).
According to Enel-SP, among the main factors that influenced the increase were inflation and sectoral charges. Still according to the company, the increase in tariffs would be 27.64%, if there was no “reduction effort” by the company itself and the Federal government.
In the opinion of professionals in the energy sector, the constant rise in electricity bills – not only from Enel-SP, but also from other distributors over the last few years – further reinforces the need for Brazilian consumers to generate their own energy, through sources such as solar.
“Investment in solar has become even more viable and attractive in recent years due to the benefits it offers in terms of profitability and clean energy. With the constant instability of increases proposed by ANEEL, the need to migrate to solar has become almost an obligation”, assessed Gustavo Tegon, a specialist in business administration and co-founder from the Solar Sphere.
According to data from ANEEL, the demand for photovoltaic systems among Brazilian consumers, amid constant increases in electricity tariffs, grew considerably in 2022.
Between January and June this year, more than 247,600 systems were installed in residential, commercial, rural, industrial and government-related properties. This is an increase of more than 40% in relation to the 172.4 thousand systems installed in the same period in 2021.
Other increases in the electricity bill
In addition to the consumers served by Enel-SP, other residents of the State of São Paulo are also suffering from increases in their electricity bills in 2022.
In April, CPFL Paulista, for example, readjusted its tariff by more than 13% for residential consumers. The distributor serves prominent cities in the state such as Campinas, Ribeirão Preto, Bauru and São José do Rio Preto.
The announced increase was, in fact, one of the factors that made the retiree Agostinho Duenha Filho, 60 years old, chose to install six photovoltaic panels in his home in the first week of June.
He says he is just waiting for the watch to be changed to start generating his own energy. “We did the calculations and (he and his wife) realized that it will be worth it, because we will only pay the minimum tariff (to the distributor)”, he commented.
Duenha Filho explains that, in his case, the value of the electricity bill should reduce from R$ 350.00 to less than R$ 70.00 – a saving that will help pay for the health plan, which has also increased recently.
“We (he and his wife) are in an age group where we have to worry about our health. So, installing solar energy was a way we found to save money and alleviate our health insurance costs”, he concluded.
