Brazil’s Congress Approves Bill Expanding Free Electricity for Poorest Households

Overview

• The Senate approved the conversion bill 49–3, hours after the Chamber’s vote, sending the measure for presidential sanction.
• Families in the CadÚnico registry get full bill exemption up to 80 kWh per month, and households with per‑capita income between half and one minimum wage will be exempt from the CDE charge up to 120 kWh starting in January 2026.
• The government estimates up to about 60 million people will benefit, with an annual cost of roughly R$3.6 billion and about R$850 million tied to the new CDE exemption, financed via the CDE.
• An agglutinative amendment removed contentious items such as new tariff modalities, market‑opening rules and hydrological‑risk mechanisms, which will be taken up in a separate measure (MP 1.304).
• The text authorizes renegotiation of hydropower debts and spreads Angra 1 and 2 costs across all users except low‑income consumers from 2026, with resources aimed at easing tariffs in the North and Northeast.