Brazil: & the Choice: Past or Future?

Brazil: & the Choice: Past or Future?

Our tradition in the electricity sector is to remain tethered to the past.

And, to save face, we simply patch up the flaws of strategies that have left Brazil trailing behind the other BRICS nations in terms of $/kWh costs.

My suggestion is to completely change the game.

Of course, this wouldn't be an easy decision, given the vested interests involved. But if competitiveness is the primary goal, we need that kind of clarity.

Anyone deeply involved in the electricity sector knows full well that Brazil is a world leader in electricity theft, offers incentives for intermittent energy sources that cause grid bottlenecks (leading to curtailments), and enables a host of projects of questionable merit when viewed through the lens of cost-efficiency—among a long list of other issues.

A crucial question is on the table. What do we want? To cement our reputation as losers, or to take the initiative and aim for efficiency, just like the many countries currently ahead of us?

Do we have the courage and the willingness to break with the status quo, or will we just let things drift?