The price of piped gas in Rio is expected to rise by up to 40% for consumers in 2022

The price of piped gas in Rio de Janeiro, which is used in homes and industries, may increase by up to 40% from January 2022. CNN by the Brazilian Association of Pipeline Gas Distribution Companies (Abegás).

Until November, piped residential gas rose 20.59% and vehicle gas, 37.78%, well above this year’s average inflation, which was 9.26% in the period.

The director of strategy and market at Abegás, Marcelo Mendonça, says that Petrobras even proposed a 200% increase in short-term contracts for the sector, but that in practice the cost of gas will increase by 50% for distributors.

In absolute values, the product value will be US$12 per BTU. And he also says that these values ​​will be almost completely passed on to the people of Rio de Janeiro.

“The value will in fact be passed on to the consumer. In this process, the distributors have their hands tied, because they need to maintain competition in the offer and guarantee energy security. As a result, the cost of piped gas in Rio will increase by 30% to 40% next year”, highlighted Marcelo Mendonça.

Naturgy, the company that controls the gas concession in Rio de Janeiro, also confirms the CNN, through a note, the readjustment in the cost of gas acquisition from January by Petrobras. The company cites that ‘due to the rise in international gas prices and the variation in the barrel of oil and the dollar’.

Like Abegás, Naturgy and several other distributors in the country, they joined the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) with a precautionary order requesting maintenance of the current distribution price made by Petrobras for a period of at least another year.

“Due to the urgency and extreme relevance of the topic for Brazil and the State of Rio de Janeiro, the company is also working, as well as several national and Rio de Janeiro entities, so that Cade can guide and judge the process as soon as possible, aiming at equate the theme”, said Naturgy in a note.

In a statement, Petrobras said to CNN that it will be necessary to import gas to supply all of the country’s demand in 2022, and that the increase in demand for the product may have influenced the rise in prices.

And ‘reinforces its commitment to offer natural gas distributors contractual mechanisms to reduce volatility and provide more predictability to product prices, maintaining alignment with the international market’. THE CNN also sought out Cade, who stated that the process is restricted.