*Brazil’s federal electricity regulator (Aneel) has raised the country’s tariff for power consumption from the second highest band, ‘bandeira vermelha patamar 1’ (‘red flag level 1’), to the highest band, ‘bandeira vermelha patamar 2’. From April 2022 until this year, the tariff was set at the lowest band, ‘bandeira verde’ (‘green flag’). However, it was brought up to ‘bandeira amarela’ (‘yellow flag’) in July 2024. It was lowered to verde again in August, and then raised to bandeira vermelha patamar 1 in September. The increase to patamar 2, which took effect yesterday (1 October), has brought the cost of electricity to R$7.88 (US$1.44) per 100 kilowatt-hours (KwH), up from R$4.46 last month. According to an Aneel press release, the decision to increase the tariff to the highest band this month was influenced by factors such as intense droughts in recent months impacting hydroelectric production. Authorities have raised alarm over severe water scarcity in the rivers that supply the reservoirs of the country’s largest hydroelectric dams, such as the Belo Monte dam on the Xingu River and the Itaipú dam on the Paraná River.
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