The capacity reserve charge on company bills

BCR-i Brasil published an article on the growing weight of the Capacity Reserve Charge on companies' bills, after the procurement of almost 19.5 GW in the 2026 capacity reserve auctions and with new auctions scheduled until 2029.

ANEEL's figures show the scale. According to CNN Brasil, on 19 June 2026, the agency estimated that the new contracts could cost up to BRL 2.3 billion on bills by April 2027, with the charge tariff rising from BRL 5.66 to BRL 9.27 per MWh at distribution utilities with adjustments in the second four-month period. The contracts have terms of up to 15 years.

The charge is the means by which consumers remunerate the system's available capacity, and the investment in the contracted plants is paid over the contract. In BCR-i's reading, monitoring this charge becomes as important as monitoring the price of energy.

For companies, energy management gains a new line in the budget. A 15-year contract is a 15-year cost, and projecting its trajectory is worth as much as negotiating the price per MWh.