In July, Brazil consumed 63,083 average megawatts of electricity, a positive variation of 2.6% compared to the same period in 2021. In the annual comparison, demand has been on the rise since February, driven mainly by sectors such as services, beverages and wood. , Paper And Cellulose.

The scenario is observed especially in industry and large companies, such as shopping malls and retail chains, which negotiate the input on the free market. In July, the environment consumed an average of 23,458 MW, an amount 7.1% higher than in the same period of the previous year. Another 39,625 average MW were demanded by the regulated market, which supplies homes and small businesses. In the segment, there was a slight increase of 0.3%, reflecting the rise in temperature in most of the country, except in the Northeast region.

As the migration between environments has a significant influence on the results, the CCEE also analyzes how the behavior of the indicators would have occurred, disregarding the movement of these loads. In this simulation, the free market would have a smaller advance, of 4.2%, while the regulated market would register a growth of 2.1%. In another hypothesis, if there were no distributed generation, that is, photovoltaic solar panels installed in homes and businesses, which reduce grid demand, there would be a 2.5% increase in the volume demanded by the regulated segment.

Consumption by branches of economic activity

In the 15 branches of economic activity that the CCEE monitors in the free market, disregarding the new cargo that migrated in the last 12 months, the highest increase occurred in the wood, paper and cellulose segment (18.9%), followed by beverages (13, 9%) and services (7.6%). Among those that registered declines are textiles (-4.1%) and non-metallic minerals (-1.5%).

Regional consumption

In the evaluation by state, almost all regions of Brazil increased their electricity consumption in July compared to the same period last year, except for part of the Northeast, Amapá, Espírito Santo and Rio Grande do Sul. Roraima stands out, with an increase of 23%, Mato Grosso and Acre, both with growth of around 17% each.

Power generation

The hydroelectric plants supplied 45,022 average megawatts to the National Interconnected System – SIN, a volume 32.7% higher than in the same period in 2021, a sign of the good recovery of the reservoirs. Consequently, there was a reduction in the dependence on thermal plants, which fell by 54%. Also noteworthy is the 66.7% increase in the production of photovoltaic solar energy and the 16.7% increase in wind generation. Altogether, the country produced 4.5% more energy than last year.

Export

Brazil also exported an average of 986 MW of electricity to Argentina and Uruguay. According to the sector's accounting, the sale of surplus to neighboring countries is recorded as a “consumption” in the Services segment. Taking this effect into account, the total volume consumed in the country would have grown by 4.3% compared to July last year and only the branch of activity would have increased by 94.2%. Rio Grande do Sul would have increased the result by 24%, since the flow of input occurs through transmission lines in the state.