Government publishes MP with measures to support the electricity sector due to coronavirus

President Jair Bolsonaro signed an interim measure to enable actions to support the electricity sector amid the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the energy industry. The MP 950, published in an extra edition of the Official Gazette on Wednesday night, authorizes the Union to allocate 900 million reais to cover tariff discounts to low-income consumers, who will be exempt from the electricity bill between April and June. The text also authorizes the structuring by the government of financial operations to serve electricity distributors, which have shown concern about cash problems due to the sharp drop in energy consumption and a possible increase in delinquency amid the crisis caused by the virus. These financial transactions should subsequently be amortised by charging on consumer tariffs, charged in proportion to energy consumption. The charge will be regulated in an act of the federal executive power and may be moved by the Chamber of Electric Energy Trading (CCEE). The MP comes amid government talks with banks to enable emergency loans to distributors during the pandemic. Companies in the sector claim that they could need between 15 billion and 17 billion reais. The Ministry of Mines and Energy held a meeting last week with BNDES, Caixa and Banco do Brasil while preparing the electricity support package. The PM confirms a reuters report, which published on Wednesday that the government was preparing an interim measure to enable relief measures for distributors and that the package of actions would involve the contribution of the Treasury to allow the discount to low-income families.