ANEEL Resolution No. 1,000 is published and revokes REN 414

A ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency) published, this week, the Normative Resolution No. 1,000, which consolidates the Agency's main rules for the provision of public electricity distribution services in the country. 

The new standard basically modifies normative acts relating to the rights and duties of consumers and other users of the public energy distribution service, thus defining the responsibilities of agents and the procedures to be followed by consumers.

In total, the document has more than 170 pages and modifies 61 standards, some of which directly involve the solar distributed mini and microgeneration sector.

Among the main revoked resolutions are: 

• REN 376/2009: Contracting of electrical energy by free consumers in the National Interconnected System;
• REN 414/2010: General conditions for the supply of electrical energy;
• REN 547/2013: Tariff Flags – Commercial procedures; 
• REN 581/2013: Provision of ancillary activities by distributors 
• REN 733/2016: Application of the white hourly tariff modality
• REN 819/2018: Electric vehicle charging

To clarify the topic, the Solar Channel spoke with Einar Tribuci, partner at Tribuci Advogados and legal and tax director at ABGD (Brazilian Association of Distributed Generation).

“I believe that the new standards that were introduced in this new resolution, which involves distributed generation, are beneficial because they bring clearer rules and that previously there were doubts about the correct treatment that distributors should give due to a regulatory gap (…) The resolution should also bring an improvement in communication between consumer and distributor”, by introducing procedures”, he highlighted.

In the jurist's view, some articles in the new resolution draw attention, such as, for example, number 30, which provides that consumers or users supplied with voltage greater than or equal to 2.3 kV are responsible for their installations necessary for lowering voltage, energy transport and system protection, in addition to the connection point, in addition to emphasizing that consumers with distributed micro or mini generation must install warning signs next to the input standard signaling the existence of their own generation.

He also considered relevant the prohibition of the possibility of injecting electrical energy into the distribution network from electric vehicles and their participation in the distributed micro and mini generation electrical energy compensation system. “I found it interesting to have this prediction, because we are now starting to see a volume of electric cars being sold in Brazil and, eventually, an ordinary person will not be able to use the energy coming from their vehicle and inject it into the grid. In the United States, this possibility is already a reality”

What changes, according to ANEEL?

Compensation for damage to equipment: The consumer will have up to five years to ask the distributor to reimburse the amount paid for equipment damaged due to power supply failures. The consumer will also have the right to repair their equipment, at their own risk, and without authorization from the distributor. 

Starts in effect at: April 1, 2022.

 Moving to a property with an overdue electricity bill: If the previous occupant of a property left electricity bills in arrears, the electricity distributor cannot charge the new occupant the amount as a condition for transferring ownership, nor require him to sign any document assuming responsibility for payment. The debt will belong to the holder of the overdue account and not the property. This was already ANEEL's rule, but with the document it became even more explicit. 

Starts in effect at: April 1, 2022.

Simplification of deadlines for connecting to the network: Due to the publication of Law No. 14,195, of August 26, 2021 – which deals with the policy of modernizing the business environment in Brazil and contains a chapter on obtaining electricity – the new standard establishes a specific rite that provides for connection in 45 days for units with contracted power of up to 140 kVA, in urban areas, up to 150 meters from the network and where there is no need for expansion, reinforcement or improvement works in the distribution system.

Starts in effect at: April 1, 2022 for the municipalities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo; January 1, 2023 for other capitals; and January 1, 2024 for other Brazilian municipalities.

Return of charges incorrectly made by the distributor: The rule establishes that, if the distributor unduly charges a higher amount from the consumer, it must return it in double amount. The refund will not be doubled, that is, it will be the same amount paid, if the undue charge was due to the sole responsibility of the consumer or third parties unrelated to the distributor. And if the distributor makes the return simply, they will have to justify their decision in writing. 

Starts in effect at: April 1, 2022. It will be updated by the IPCA from July 1, 2022.

Free connection of indigenous/quilombola communities: The document recognized the right to free care in these communities based on the 1988 Federal Constitution. 

Starts in effect at: April 1, 2022.

Interest reduction on early payment of debts: This is the right to early payment of the debt (e.g. installments), in whole or in part, through a proportional reduction in interest and other additions. The rule already exists in the Consumer Protection Code and was reinforced by Resolution 1,000. 

Starts in effect at: April 1, 2022.

Power cuts are prohibited on weekends and holidays: The distributor can no longer suspend the energy supply due to non-payment on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, as well as on holidays or the day before a holiday. 

Starts in effect at: April 1, 2022.

The distributor must notify you when the power cut begins: The company is obliged to inform the consumer of the initial day of suspension of supply. 

Starts in effect at: April 1, 2022. 

Payment of financial compensation for non-compliance with deadlines: The amount of compensation to be paid to consumers, if the deadlines established in the rules are violated, has increased. The idea is to discourage violating deadlines and, once violated, for distributors to regularize it as quickly as possible. 

Starts in effect at: 01/01/2023. 

Customer service: Resolution 1,000 opens up new service possibilities, including video calls at in-person stations, internet, chat, e-mail and complaints on the Ministry of Justice's consumer.gov platform, membership of which will be mandatory for all distributors. Protocol generation will be mandatory in all service channels. In case of self-service, all services offered will be free. In telephone calls, the distributor cannot end the call before completing the service.

Starts in effect at: July 1, 2022 for questions related to the protocol electronically; January 1, 2023 for new forms of service, new waiting time for service at the in-person service point, call back in case of call discontinuity, electronic recording of calls, provision of service over the Internet, first-time solution contact; July 1, 2023 for integration of channels made available by the distributor; and April 1, 2022 for other rules.