Study explains why electricity bills are high even with clean energy
FGV research shows that only about 30% of the bill corresponds to the energy itself; the rest goes to distribution, transmission, charges and taxes.
Translated from the Portuguese original by the Panorama newsroom. Read in Portuguese
Summary written by the Panorama newsroom from the sources listed below. Facts are attributed to the original publications.
Nearly 90% of Brazil's energy comes from renewable sources, yet electricity bills remain heavy. Jornal Nacional, broadcast by g1, presented a study that seeks to explain the paradox and noted that electricity has the third-largest weight in the inflation index, behind only gasoline and health insurance plans.
The survey is by economist Daniel Duque, of the Fundação Getúlio Vargas, commissioned by the Centro de Liderança Pública. According to him, more than two-thirds of the bill is unrelated to the cost of energy. In 2025, that portion was 30.4%.
The rest is divided among distribution, at 26%, taxes, at 18%, sector charges, at 15%, and transmission, at 10%. The charges fund social programs and subsidies, such as those given to irrigation in agriculture.
The report also cites the legal requirement to buy part of the energy from thermal power plants and small hydroelectric plants, and the tariff flag system, which makes electricity more expensive when drought lowers reservoir levels.
In a ranking of 138 countries, Brazil is not among the most expensive, but it charges more than nations with a similar renewable profile, such as Canada, Norway and China. A condominium in Rio's North Zone, interviewed for the report, pays R$ 40,000 a month for electricity.