O equilíbrio econômico-financeiro das distribuidoras de energia elétrica na pandemia da covid-19: efeitos no setor elétrico e atos regulatórios

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic was the biggest health crisis in recent years. In Brazil, due to Covid19, there are almost 700 thousand deaths. The effects of the pandemic will reverberate for years. In the electricity sector, the control measures had a direct impact. The need for social distancing created actions such as, for example, teleworking, which generated a vertiginous drop in electricity consumption. Allied to this, the slowdown in the economy reduced industrial consumption and the impoverishment of the population increased the number of defaulters. The tragic scenario required Aneel's actions, above all, regarding the maintenance of the economicfinancial balance of the contracts. The Theory of Economic-Financial Equilibrium of administrative contracts maintains that the public interest passes through the fair remuneration of the contractor. When an extraordinary event generates unexpected costs and disadvantages for the concessionaire, the contract must be renegotiated. In the electricity sector, concession contracts have readjustment and review clauses. With the pandemic, new legal mechanisms were necessary for the reconstruction of the economic-financial balance. Here we analyze the actions carried out by Aneel during the pandemic that made it possible to restore the economic and financial balance of electric energy distributors. Among Aneel's measures, the Conta-Covid stands out. Conta-Covid was a mechanism that enabled fiscal solidity for concessionaires, prevented solvency and interruption of public service.