EN 
PT_BR 
According to data from CCEE (Electricity Trading Chamber), the volume of consumers negotiating energy on the free market grew by 22% in September compared to the same period last year.
At the end of the month, the ACL (Free Contracting Environment) had 8,247 agents from the consumer classes, compared to 6,759 in 2019. The monthly average of memberships in 2020 continues to be the highest since the record recorded in 2016. There are 150 new migrations of the regulated market every month.
According to Bernardo Marangon, specialist in electrical energy markets and director of Exata Energia, solar has been increasingly attracting the attention of free and special consumers who trade in the ACL.
“Exata also has a presence in the free market and what we are seeing is an increase in consumer interest in photovoltaic energy projects. We serve generators and consumers who would like to generate their own energy, and the number of studies and diagnoses we have carried out has increased considerably. We believe that this type of project will make more and more sense, given that the downward trend in the value of investment is expected to continue”, explained Marangon.
For CCEE, the result mainly reflects the growth of 23.8% in the number of special consumers. The volume of free consumers, in turn, grew by around 10.2%. The calculations already discount agents dismissed during the period.
In September alone, the number of ongoing processes to join the free market grew by 44% compared to the same period last year. During the month, 1,049 migration processes were registered, the majority of which were for special consumers.
CCEE also reported that the volume of consumer units grew along with the number of agents working in the ACL. Last month ended with 19,733 loads with contracts on the free market, an increase of 31.2% compared to September 2019.
Pedro Dante, a lawyer specializing in the energy sector at Demarest, also highlighted that closing a contract at ACL is 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 the free market”, said Dante.
“The reduction in demand causes the price to fall. So, this migration makes sense. You have a bureaucratic part, but you may have a small investment in adapting the connection. Obviously, the economic signal ends up boosting shares and we have seen growth in this movement”, added Marangon.
