The President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro, sanctioned the Law 712/2019, which creates the Just Energy Transition program, extending contracts for the sale of electricity by coal-fired thermal power plants in Santa Catarina. The law extends the supply contracts of these plants for 15 years, starting in January 2025.
The law determines the extension of contracts for the Jorge Lacerda Thermoelectric Complex (CTJL), in the south of the state, until 2040, to supply the national electricity system.
The legislation determines the creation of a council, composed of representatives of the government, workers and companies, which will be responsible for implementing the transition program until the closure of the coal mines.
According to the General Secretariat of the Presidency, the measure is aimed at preserving mining activity in the region during the transition period. “The project sanction will be important to promote a fair energy transition for the coal region of the State of Santa Catarina, considering the environmental, economic and social impacts and the valorization of energy and mineral resources, in addition to supporting the distribution public service concessionaires of small electric power”, justified the secretariat.
small size
In addition to the extension of coal-fired thermoelectric generation contracts in Santa Catarina, the law also creates economic subsidy for small-scale electricity distributors, with their own annual market of less than 350 gigawatt-hours (GWh).
The rates applicable to these concessionaires may not be higher than the rates of the electric energy distribution concessionaire for an adjacent area and with an annual market of more than 700 Gwh.
The law also defines that a large distributor that acquires another one with its own market of less than 700 GWh/year will be entitled to 25% of the proposed subsidy for ten years.
The General Secretariat of the Presidency said that the measure will guarantee reasonableness in the rates of small energy distributors. The cost of this economic subsidy will be covered by the Energy Development Account (CDE), paid by all consumers in the country.
