Electricity sector authorities are closely monitoring a movement convened by social networks for owners of photovoltaic panels to turn off their equipment for four hours, this Tuesday (7), and stop generating solar energy.
The call for the self-styled “Eclipse Day” was made in an apocryphal message and spread quickly on the networks, with a request to disconnect between 11:30 am and 3:30 pm, and began to be accompanied by the sector’s bodies. The founders of the movement have not been identified.
This is a protest against what many investors in own energy generation (distributed generation) classify, controversially, as the “sun tax”. The segment’s legal framework is under review by the Senate.
Behind the scenes, the concern with “Eclipse Day” is focused on the impact that this eventual shutdown would have on the total supply of energy in the country.
The National Electric System Operator (ONS) told the CNN through its advisory, that the interconnected system is robust and prepared to deal with “possible fluctuations in the availability of the generation offer”, as well as to manage “variations in the load to be served”.
“The ONS has a multidisciplinary team that constantly monitors the availability of resources and the service conditions of the electrical system”, added the operator.
Specialist Adriano Pires, president of the Brazilian Center for Infrastructure (Cbie), does not believe in surprises. He remembers that at this moment, nearing the end of a season that is quite abundant with rain, the reservoirs are full and the hydroelectric plants can contribute with an increase in generation.
“Now we are seeing excess water in the system. The reservoirs are leaking,” said Pires. The dams of the Southeast/Center-West subsystem, which have the largest storage volume in the country, are at 78.3% of their capacity — the best level in at least 15 years.
In recent working days, according to bulletins from the ONS itself, solar energy has contributed about 2,000 megawatts (MW) on average to power generation — less than 3% of the system’s total load. At peak times, it is between 4,000 and 5,000 MW.
The Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy (Absolar) completely disassociated itself from the articulation on social networks and said it rejects the disconnection of the panels. “We are unaware of the authorship of such an initiative, which contributes little to the sustainable development and good governance of the Brazilian electricity sector”, said the association, in a note.
“In this sense, Absolar recommends that those who manage their own energy not adhere to such action and keep their systems operating normally”.
The legal framework for distributed generation ensured the free charging of the Tariff for the Use of the Distribution System (TUSD) until 2045 for projects that requested connection to the electricity grid until January 6, 2023.
However, the sector has been claiming the extension of the subsidy, considering that energy distributors have created difficulties for consumers who try to file a request for access to their own generation of renewable energy in the country. In addition, it criticizes the lack of regulation by the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel).
In Pires’ assessment, the current situation is unfavorable to photovoltaic energy producers. However, he warns that the “excessive dependence” on intermittent sources of energy — hydroelectric, wind and solar — leaves the operation of the system more complicated and vulnerable. He defends more natural gas thermal plants to provide security for generation.
Source: CNN Brasil
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