By Gabriela Volpato. The Brazilian gasoline crisis of May 2018 demonstrated the need for alternative transportation solutions in Brazil. In response to that crisis and other incentives, the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL) approved in June 2018 a new regulation to establish the procedures and conditions for installing electric vehicle (EV) charging stations throughout the country.
The projected increase in the number of automobiles in Brazil will require a corresponding increase in the supply of transportation fuel in the coming years, which makes the use of electricity as a fuel in the transportation sector an interesting alternative, from both the energy security and environmental points of view. A supportive regulatory environment for charging stations will be needed to supply the demand for electricity to charge EV batteries. ANEEL opted to start with a minimum regulation of this emerging industry.
Technically, this regulation allows any entrepreneur to install a charging station, paying the energy distributer for the energy consumed, according to the existing meter at the property and based on the tariffs already charged and defined by ANEEL.
This initial regulatory approach of ANEEL aims to eliminate barriers, accelerate the deployment of charging stations, and provide an attractive framework for the deployment of EVs in Brazil. The regulation allows use of electricity for EV charging with no additional fixed commercial or residential tariff, as distinct from what happens with fuels such as gasoline and diesel, for example, which are subject to additional tariffs.
According to the app “Plugshare” there are only 26 public charging stations in Brazil to supply the current demand of 6,000 electric vehicles. This number can be explained by the prior lack of supportive regulation and public incentives for this type of transportation alternative. Dargay [1] predicts that with an average US$ 15,900 per capita income and a population of 222 million Brazilians in 2030, the national fleet of cars would be the around 80 million vehicles in Brazil. This would represent an increase of 127% of number of cars in the country and would make Brazil the fifth biggest automobile market in the world.
While the new regulation for EV charging stations is a positive start, there is still much to be done so that electric cars can in fact spread through the streets of Brazil. The main obstacle is the lack of incentives and investments in the sector, both for car manufacturing and for components such as batteries. For the Brazilian population in general EVs are still too expensive and inconvenient to refuel when compared to combustion cars. However, as other markets such as California’s show, with the right incentives and infrastructure in place, EVs become a popular choice.
[1] DARGAY, J., GATELY, D. E SOMMER, M. Vehicle Ownership and Income Growth, Worldwide: 1960-2030. Energy Journal, 2007.
Gabriela Volpato is Brazilian energy engineer, a Research Fellow at the InterAmerican Clean Energy Institute, and an energy systems management graduate student at the University of San Francisco.
The projected increase in the number of automobiles in Brazil will require a corresponding increase in the supply of transportation fuel in the coming years, which makes the use of electricity as a fuel in the transportation sector an interesting alternative, from both the energy security and environmental points of view. A supportive regulatory environment for charging stations will be needed to supply the demand for electricity to charge EV batteries. ANEEL opted to start with a minimum regulation of this emerging industry.
Technically, this regulation allows any entrepreneur to install a charging station, paying the energy distributer for the energy consumed, according to the existing meter at the property and based on the tariffs already charged and defined by ANEEL.
This initial regulatory approach of ANEEL aims to eliminate barriers, accelerate the deployment of charging stations, and provide an attractive framework for the deployment of EVs in Brazil. The regulation allows use of electricity for EV charging with no additional fixed commercial or residential tariff, as distinct from what happens with fuels such as gasoline and diesel, for example, which are subject to additional tariffs.
According to the app “Plugshare” there are only 26 public charging stations in Brazil to supply the current demand of 6,000 electric vehicles. This number can be explained by the prior lack of supportive regulation and public incentives for this type of transportation alternative. Dargay [1] predicts that with an average US$ 15,900 per capita income and a population of 222 million Brazilians in 2030, the national fleet of cars would be the around 80 million vehicles in Brazil. This would represent an increase of 127% of number of cars in the country and would make Brazil the fifth biggest automobile market in the world.
While the new regulation for EV charging stations is a positive start, there is still much to be done so that electric cars can in fact spread through the streets of Brazil. The main obstacle is the lack of incentives and investments in the sector, both for car manufacturing and for components such as batteries. For the Brazilian population in general EVs are still too expensive and inconvenient to refuel when compared to combustion cars. However, as other markets such as California’s show, with the right incentives and infrastructure in place, EVs become a popular choice.
[1] DARGAY, J., GATELY, D. E SOMMER, M. Vehicle Ownership and Income Growth, Worldwide: 1960-2030. Energy Journal, 2007.
Gabriela Volpato is Brazilian energy engineer, a Research Fellow at the InterAmerican Clean Energy Institute, and an energy systems management graduate student at the University of San Francisco.
EV Charging stations in Brazil. Source: PlugShare.
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