Energy consumption in May has increased compared to the same period in 2021

The Electric Energy Commercialization Chamber (CCEE) recorded a new increase in electricity consumption in the country.

According to the agency, in the first two weeks of May, an average of 62,953 megawatts were consumed, which is equivalent to an increase of 1.9% compared to the same period last year.

The so-called Free Contracting Environment, a market in which industry and large corporations purchase electricity freely from generators and traders, consumed 35% of total energy, which corresponds to a volume 0.9% higher than in 2021.

In the Regulated Contracting Environment, which serves homes and small businesses within the regulated market, consumption was 65% of the total, equivalent to an increase of 2.5%.

Also according to the CCEE balance sheet, the service sector was responsible for the largest increase in consumption, up 11.1% compared to the first two weeks of May 2021.

According to the agency, this reflects the “recovery of the sector, which was still heavily impacted by the pandemic at the beginning of 2021”.

In second place appears the wood, paper and cellulose industry, which had an increase in demand of 10.9%.

“In the assessment of the Chamber of Commerce, one of the main reasons is that companies in this area are operating at maximum capacity to meet international demand, since all European production was impacted by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” CCEE reported in a note. .

The vehicle manufacturing sector, on the other hand, fell by 10.4%, still feeling the effects of the lockdown in the port of Shanghai, which, according to the CCEE, “has hampered the importation of raw materials for the automotive industry”.

The textile and chemical sectors also saw a reduction in energy consumption, with drops of 8.6% and 5.3%, respectively.

water reservoirs

Keeping the upward trend, since the reservoirs continue with good levels after the rains of the last few months, the generation of energy by hydroelectric plants also had a new high observed.

According to the CCEE, hydroelectric plants offered 7.3% more electricity to the National Interconnected System (SIN), compared to the first two weeks of May last year.

On the other hand, thermal plants had a 34.8% reduction in the share of energy delivered to the SIN.

The energy production that grew the most was solar, with an increase of 60.1% compared to the same period in 2021. Then comes wind generation, with an increase of 29.5%.

Consumption by region

As expected, the regions that had the highest temperatures in the period evaluated were those that also had the highest percentages of increase in energy consumption.

The states of Rondônia (32%), Mato Grosso (23%) and Tocantins (20%) had the highest rates. The states of Rio Grande do Sul (-26%), São Paulo (-8%), Pará (-4%) and Acre (-1%) were the ones that showed a drop in consumption.

price confidence

With the current scenario of the reservoirs, the positive projection of consumption and the historical average of rain, a study by Trinity Energia, an electric energy trading company, points out that the green flag should remain until the end of this year, without the extra charge on the tariff.

According to the survey carried out in relation to the free market, even with the reduction of rainfall in the coming months, the price of energy should cost approximately R$ 87.00/MWh in the second half of the year.

The value is well below the maximum ceiling, which is R$ 646.58/MWh, as explained by the CEO of Trinity Energia, João Sanches.

“For the captive residential consumer (homes, low voltage and those who are not in the free market), this means that the hydrological situation this year is favorable and that the chances of us having tariff flags above the green in the coming months are extremely low . As for the free market, it means that if the consumer has not made long-term contracts, with a price already fixed, he will get around R$ 87.00/MWh, which is a very low price”, he explained.

According to Sanches, the future perspective in relation to energy consumption is one of growth.

“We believe that consumption will be higher than the previous year. Industry confidence increased due to more favorable aspects. The load carried out so far is 1.9% higher than in the same period last year, for the coming months it is estimated that this value will exceed 2%”, he concluded.