A study by the consultancy Volt Robotics revealed that 1.445 solar and wind power plants suffered cuts in energy generation by order of the ONS (National Electric System Operator) in 2024. The financial losses exceed R$ 1,6 billion, with more than 14,6 TWh of average energy cut.
In total, around 400 thousand hours of generation were interrupted, with the Northeast being the most impacted region, accumulating 330 thousand hours. Among the most affected states are Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte and Bahia.
Reasons for the cuts and impacts on the sector
Known as curtailment or constrained-off, 65% of the interruptions were caused by failures in the electrical grid, including insufficient transmission infrastructure, construction delays, maintenance shutdowns and operational instabilities, according to the consultancy.
Only 35% of the outages occurred due to an imbalance between supply and instantaneous demand, the main justification given by the ONS for the interruptions. According to Volt Robotics, these excess energy levels occur mainly on weekends, when consumption is lower.
The cuts directly affect the generators’ revenue, leading many companies to resort to the courts to minimize the financial impacts. Associations such as ABEEólica and ABSOLAR filed a lawsuit against the ANEEL, requesting full reimbursement of the amounts lost. Although an injunction was granted in December, it was overturned in January.
Last week, Elera Renováveis, a subsidiary of Brookfield Renewable, obtained an injunction to prevent millions in losses at nine plants in the Alex Solar Complex in Ceará. The decision guarantees the company the right to maintain its energy sales revenue without adjustments resulting from the cuts, avoiding a financial impact estimated at R$46 million, equivalent to more than 30% of the plants' annual revenue.
Given this scenario, companies such as Engie and EDP are reviewing their investments in Brazil, while Rio Alto has filed a lawsuit to protect itself from creditors' executions, alleging financial difficulties caused by interruptions in generation.
“Reimbursement to the plants is essential, since, in addition to having legal support, it preserves legal security and predictability in the business environment in Brazil, under penalty of capital flight, disinvestment and job losses”, commented Donato Filho, CEO of Volt Robotics.
Solutions for generation cuts
For the consultancy, the short-term solution to minimize the effects of the cuts may come in the public consultation of ANEEL – which studies distributing interruptions among all renewable plants, avoiding concentration in just a few projects.
Another short-term solution is to establish a joint effort to resolve the systemic delay in transmission works. In addition, mechanisms must be created to reduce the inflexibility and untimely dispatch of thermal power plants, helping these plants reduce costs and – at the same time – providing more opportunities for renewables.
The consultancy also suggests the need to encourage changes in consumption habits, monitoring the best times to use electricity that are within the range of greatest availability (or excess) of renewable generation, such as early in the morning, for example.
Another measure would be to create a smart tariff model, as has been discussed between the ANEEL and electricity distributors. The idea is to speed up the creation of a program that can regulate a cheaper rate in the morning, during the period of greatest renewable generation, which stimulates more intense consumption at this same time, which would avoid many power outages.
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