In the near future, even low-voltage consumers will be able to contract energy in the free market.
The expectation is that this will reduce monthly electricity bill costs, just as it already does for free-market consumers connected at medium- and high-voltage power grids.
However, the key question is: what needs to change for this reduction to occur? The answer is not simple. The list of costs currently embedded (by regulation) in tariffs will likely have to be charged to free-market consumers as well—naturally, to ensure systemic balance is achieved and maintained.
So, what is a realistic expectation for this new scenario? It remains unclear. Given how costs work in Brazil, the most likely scenario is that free-market consumers will end up paying all the same costs that regulated consumers pay (including the questionable ones).
After all, the alternative would be the collapse of the electricity sector as it is currently structured. The bottom line? Brazil is likely to remain among the countries with the highest energy costs when compared to its peers (the BRICS nations).