Brazil's national energy policy council CNPE will define the conditions and prices for market participants to access state-owned PPSA's natural gas flow, treatment and transportation infrastructure, the government said.
The government published the decision in a provisional measure on 11 July. Market participants expect the measure to lower costs for gas producers, who accuse PPSA of charging anti-competitive prices for infrastructure access.
The provisional measure also revoked the government's obligation to contract thermoelectric plants, which should ease demand for gas in Brazil during periods of low rainfall. The measure eliminates a requirement from the Eletrobras privatization law to contract thermoelectric plants.
The government will no longer be required to contract thermoelectric capacity and can instead contract small hydroelectric plants. The government can contract up to 3GW of small hydroelectric plants in capacity reserve auctions until 2026.
The provisional measure also limited the CDE charge, a tariff used to fund the country's energy policy. The limit aimed to contain the increase in electricity bills caused by overturning vetoes to the country's offshore wind law.
The measure established a budget cap for the CDE starting in 2026. If costs exceed this limit, consumers will no longer pay the difference. Instead, the direct beneficiaries of the subsidies — energy distributors, generators and traders — will be responsible for covering the excess. A new resource supplementary charge mechanism will be created for this purpose and phased in, with 50pc of the amount levied in 2027 and 100pc as of 2028.
