Celebrating its 25th anniversary on August 14, 2023, Brazil’s open energy market now constitutes 40% of the country’s energy sales.
Established in August 1998, this sector allowed high-tension consumers to source their electricity from any supplier.
Today, over 12,000 firms, encompassing 34,000 consumer units, purchase above 60% of their power directly from energy traders.
Data from Abraceel, the Brazilian Energy Trading Association, reveals that 3-4 new energy traders emerge in Brazil every month, totaling 512 to date.
Of these, 82 are qualified to serve smaller consumers.
By 2024, both high and medium-tension consumers will be included in the open market, with future plans to incorporate low-tension consumers.
Market liberalization provides consumers with greater choice, fostering business competitiveness by offering access to various suppliers beyond the main distributor.
This autonomy empowers consumers to manage preferences, selecting services that better fit their consumption patterns, potentially at lower prices.
Rodrigo Ferreira, Abraceel’s CEO, comments that traders are increasingly investing in energy generation, innovative products, and are poised for this new phase.
He predicts a more intensified competition than previously seen in sectors like telecommunication due to the vast number of businesses ready to vie for consumers’ accounts.
Furthermore, since its inception in 1998, Aneel, the National Electric Energy Agency, has made substantial regulatory progress.
Ferreira underscores the agency’s plans to further boost this sector’s growth, including simplifying migration processes and refining retail trader operations.
In September 2022, the Ministry of Mines and Energy announced a directive enabling all group A consumers, regardless of consumption levels, to purchase energy from any provider.
This directive, effective from 2024, paves the way for approximately 106,000 new consumer units from 2.3 kV onwards to transition to the open market.
Aneel is expected to regulate this change by year’s end.