Senate endorses the use of coal-fired power plants in SC

With the support of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Senate confirmed on Thursday (16) the mandatory contracting of coal-fired thermal plants in Santa Catarina.

The approval comes at a time when the energy transition and the reduction in the use of fossil fuels become global goals. The matter now goes to presidential approval.

The measure was also included in the Chamber in a bill that initially created a subsidy to lower energy tariffs for small distributors.

In the next few years, the government will have to contract the generation of coal-fired thermal power plants as reserve energy – plants that are available to meet the demand of the electrical system.

In his report, Senator Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB-PB) cited the global effort to interrupt power generation from coal, but defended that this should be done in a “structured” and gradual manner.

“In Brazil, if something is not done, it will happen abruptly.”

He also mentions the government’s support for the text approved by the deputies. “I emphasize, finally, that the technical team of the Ministry of Mines and Energy expressed agreement with the text approved by the Chamber of Deputies, understanding that this is a transition project for the determinations agreed at COP-26 and that they must be complied with by 2050”, says the senator in his opinion.

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For specialists, the maintenance of incentives for this source of energy generation brings several negative effects, such as the reduction of Brazil’s competitiveness against other nations and also losses for consumers, who will have to continue supporting subsidies for more expensive energy.

According to the executive director of Instituto E+ Transição Energética, Emílio Matsumura, mandatory hiring means more pressure on consumers’ electricity bills.

“This hiring done in this way will increase the electricity bill. We have other cheaper options. This option is not being made through an auction, but mandatory by law. This year alone, in the last 12 months, energy tariffs have increased by around 30% and it is already quite heavy.”

According to the Association of Large Industrial Consumers of Energy and Free Consumers (Abrace), the amendment should have a cost of R$ 840 million per year for all consumers.

Today, Brazilians are already paying to guarantee subsidies to a group of coal-fired power plants. In 2022, the forecast is that BRL 907 million will be allocated.