The tariff flag for the month of October will be red level 2, with an extra charge of R$7,877 on the electricity bill for every 100 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity consumed. This is the first time, since August 2021, that the most expensive flag in the system created by the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) has been activated.
According to Aneel, one of the factors that determined the activation of the level 2 red flag was the hydrological risk, that is, the low rainfall forecast for the hydroelectric reservoirs. The increase in the price of the electricity market in October also had an influence.
A sequence of green flags began in April 2022 and was only interrupted in July 2024 with a yellow flag, followed by the green flag in August, and the red flag, level 1, in September. Last month, Aneel even announced the red flag level 2 for September, but corrected the information days later.
Created in 2015 by Aneel, the tariff flag system reflects the variable costs of generating electricity. Divided into levels, the flags indicate how much it is costing the National Interconnected System to generate the energy used in homes, commercial establishments and industries, considering factors such as the availability of water resources, the advancement of renewable sources, as well as the activation of sources generation systems such as thermoelectric plants.
The colors green, yellow or red (at levels 1 and 2) indicate whether the energy will cost more or less depending on the generation conditions, with the red flag being the one with the highest cost, and the green flag being the one with no extra cost.
According to Aneel, the flags allow consumers to play a more active role in defining their energy bill. “Upon knowing, for example, that the flag is red, the consumer can adapt their consumption to help reduce the value of the bill”, assesses the agency.
