President Jair Bolsonaro announced this Wednesday (6) the end of the flag of water scarcity, in force since September of last year, which generated an extra charge on the electricity bill of R$ 14.20 for every 100 kilowatt-hours (kWh) consumed. With the end of the flag, there will be no extra charge on the electricity bill. The measure comes into effect on April 16, the president said.
“Green flag for all energy consumers from 04/16. The electricity bill will have a reduction of about 20%”, posted Bolsonaro on social media. Then, the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) published an official note with the same content as the president’s posts on the subject.
The extra tariff was approved in the midst of the hydrological crisis that affected the level of the country’s hydroelectric plant reservoirs in 2021. The plants are the main source of electricity generation in the country. According to the federal government, it was the worst drought in 91 years.
“In 2021, Brazil faced the worst drought ever recorded in history. To ensure security in the supply of electricity, the country used all available resources and the federal government had to take exceptional measures. the country managed to overcome this challenge, the reservoirs are much fuller than last year and the risk of power outages has been completely removed”, says the note from the MME, also reproduced by the President of the Republic.
According to the note, the reservoir at the Furnas plant ended the month of March above 80% of its useful volume. The government also announced the resumption of the Tietê-Paraná Waterway, which was interrupted for seven months.
There was already a forecast that the water scarcity flag, the highest level ever adopted by the government, would end at the end of this month, but the measure announced by the MME and President Jair Bolsonaro anticipates the reduction by about 15 days. The government’s perspective is that the green flag will be in effect until the end of the year.
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