The Brazilian electricity sector is undergoing a period of intense transformation. Models such as energy subscription, shared distributed generation, and new forms of customer relationship are emerging as a response to the search for efficiency, sustainability, and democratization of access to energy.
Innovation is welcome — but it is not legally neutral. In recent months, some energy subscription business models (combined with multimedia sales) have begun to attract legal attention by combining three sensitive elements: (i) energy subscription; (ii) typical multi-level marketing strategies, with the sale of licenses and incentives for referrals; and (iii) linking commercial discourse to religious environments and narratives, particularly evangelical services.
This combination is not only unusual, it is legally dangerous. Brazilian law does not prohibit multi-level marketing. What it does prohibit—expressly and repeatedly—is the Ponzi scheme, that is, models in which the remuneration of participants derives essentially from the entry of new members, and not from the effective sale of a real product or service.
The distinction is objective and has been applied by bodies such as the Public Prosecutor's Office, consumer protection agencies, and the Judiciary (including the Superior Court of Justice).
In the electricity sector, this analysis becomes even more rigorous because the "product" is not symbolic: electricity is a regulated service, technically measurable, contractually structured, and overseen by the National Electric Energy Agency.
When the commercial narrative begins to emphasize earnings through referrals, licensing, starter kits, or affiliate networks, the legal risk shifts: the discussion moves beyond just sectoral regulation and into crimes against the popular economy, misleading advertising, and fraud.
Subscription-based energy is not a lawless land. The so-called "subscription-based energy" is only legally legitimate when: it is linked to shared distributed generation as defined in Law No. 14.300/2022; it respects the rules of ownership, compensation, and billing of energy credits; it presents clear contracts, without promises of financial profitability; and it does not transform the consumer into an "informal investor."
If the sales pitch shifts away from energy savings and towards the expectation of indirect financial gains, the model leaves the regulated field of energy and enters the sensitive field of disguised financial structures.
Corporate risk: when large groups enter the equation and... The situation worsens when large companies become integrated—directly or indirectly—into the capital or ecosystem of the business. Acquisitions in the decentralized energy sector without due diligence or constitutional support should be questioned.
From a corporate and governance perspective, this imposes enhanced duties such as the duty of continuous due diligence, mapping of administrative, civil and criminal contingencies, rigorous control over commercial practices and institutional discourse, and assessment of reputational risk and compliance.
Ignoring these warning signs — such as recurring complaints, an aggressive licensing model, or association with religious practices — can lead to liability for negligence, including before investors and regulatory bodies.
The most sensitive element: faith is not a sales channel. Herein lies the most delicate—and most constitutional—point of the entire discussion. The Federal Constitution is crystal clear: “Freedom of conscience and belief is inviolable” (Article 5, VI). This means that believing, professing, worshipping, and organizing religiously is an absolute fundamental right in terms of its existence.
But precisely for this reason, faith cannot be instrumentalized as an economic tool. When adherence to a commercial model occurs within religious services, under religious authority, using language of promise, prosperity, or "divine purpose," there is a risk of creating a zone of indirect moral coercion, incompatible with: the dignity of the human person, the consumer's freedom of choice, the secular nature of the State, and human rights themselves.
Belief in God should be free, intimate, and detached from any economic association, contract, licensing, or financial expectation. Mixing faith and remuneration is not an expression of religious freedom—it is a serious legal risk.
Innovation demands constitutional responsibility; This is not about demonizing innovation, nor about attacking anyone's religious beliefs. It's about establishing a clear boundary: The Constitution protects faith. The law protects the consumer. The market protects transparency.
When these three pillars become confused, everyone loses. Subscription-based energy models need to be: technically sound, legally transparent, economically honest, and constitutionally responsible.
Companies that operate in — or invest in — this sector must understand that there is no legitimate growth outside the bounds of legality, and that faith, by its very nature, cannot and should not be converted into a strategy for raising capital. Innovation is essential.
Respecting the Constitution is mandatory.
For those interested in reducing their energy bill through self-generation, and committed to acquiring an energy source with the fastest possible return on investment, it matters little whether the generation comes from the sun, wind, water, or other sources. biomass.
If a similar product is formatted using any of these sources, the consumer's decision will ultimately be based on the cheapest option. The way energy will be measured and managed by companies, based on the implementation of this model... Valuation of the impact of distributed generation on the economic and electrical flows of the distribution business. This is the major innovation currently being debated by the electricity sector.
This is because, with regard to the energy transition, the electricity sector gains even more importance for socioeconomic and environmental development as the energy matrix enters the electrification process and sectors historically based on fossil fuels, such as transportation, for example, begin to migrate to clean and renewable electricity.
In addition to the consensus surrounding the need to mitigate carbon emissions, there is the challenge of ensuring the expansion of electricity supply with less reliance on fossil fuels. In this respect, solar and wind power dominate forecasts for the expansion of the global energy matrix, both for environmental reasons and due to the economic competitiveness of these sources.
In this sense, the security of electricity supply will always be a priority for governments, system operators, and regulatory agencies, since the challenge of operating a nationally interconnected electrical system is enormous, given that there must be an instantaneous matching of supply and demand at all points in the system, considering transmission constraints.
The opinions and information expressed are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the author. Canal Solar.
Answers of 3
The Brazilian state is always eager to regulate everything. This only benefits those who sell energy at full price.
Energy subscription was the way the market found to allow those who live in apartments or other properties that do not have available space to install solar panels to benefit from the advantages of renewable energy, participate, and save money.
Under this model, since energy subscription companies cannot sell energy, consumers join a cooperative that operates solar power plants, and part of the energy generated at the plant is fed into the grid to offset their consumption.
Unfortunately, the lobby that makes life difficult for those who want to work is very powerful.
They are finding a way to put the consumer protection code above the Federal Constitution.
How to sell without advertising?
Today, we receive advertisements from pharmacies, restaurants, supermarkets, and other media outlets via social media, WhatsApp, email, and other channels... Will these also be banned?
Regarding outreach in churches, I have never heard of any priest or pastor offering salvation of the soul to those who join a renewable energy cooperative.
Congratulations on the topic you addressed.
Energy trading is serious business; we cannot allow the infamous Brazilian "Jeitinho" (a way of getting around rules) to discredit the sector.
Célio.
Don't fall for that fallacy.
Only those who sell energy at the full price are interested in this.