EDP bets on European experience to compete in the free market in Brazil
The Portuguese EDP intends to take advantage of the experience accumulated in the liberalization of the European market, especially in the Iberian Peninsula, to compete for space in the future opening of the free market for low voltage consumers.
Although it has not yet detailed its commercial strategy, the company signals that the fight for residential customers and small businesses will involve much more than the sale of energy, including new tariff models and associated services.
During an interview with CNN's Alta Voltagem program, the CEO of EDP in South America, João Brito Martins, stated that preparing for the opening of the market is one of the main challenges for the electricity sector in the coming years.
"We have to prepare the bases and infrastructure for market liberalization and it is a determining factor in the way the electricity sector is organized," he said.
The opening of the market will allow consumers to freely choose their energy supplier, replicating a movement already observed in several European countries. When asked whether EDP intends to initially concentrate its operations in areas where it already has distributors - such as São Paulo and Espírito Santo -, Martins avoided anticipating details of the commercial strategy.
The executive, however, indicated that competition will not be restricted to the supply of electricity. According to him, the opening will create space for the offer of new products and energy solutions.
"It will be the purchase transaction of a set of energy services that allow for a competitive market", he stated.
The statement reinforces a trend observed in mature markets, where suppliers have started to offer packages that combine energy, distributed generation, storage, energy efficiency, electric mobility, digital services and different tariff modalities.
"We want to have a relevant position, especially benefiting from our experience in the European market, where we already participate and in Iberia, in particular, we have managed to have a leadership position", he said.
Despite its ambition, the company did not establish public market share targets. According to the executive, the objective is to operate nationally, and not just in regions where it already has a presence through distributors.
The strategy refers to EDP's own trajectory in Portugal. The company faced a similar process when the Portuguese market was gradually opened to competition. At that time, it stopped being an exclusive energy supplier and began to compete for customers with new entrants, adapting its business model to offer products and services beyond electricity.
In Brazil, the opening of the low voltage market is seen as one of the most profound transformations in the electricity sector since the privatization of distributors. Experts believe that companies with consolidated brands, consumer knowledge and a relevant operational presence tend to have an advantage in the fight for customers.
In this context, EDP has already signaled that it intends to use the experience acquired in Europe to occupy space in a market that could involve millions of consumers and redefine the role of traditional distributors in the coming years.
Source: CNN