BRAZIL'S POWER CONSUMPTION
Brazil's electricity consumption is concentrated in the Southeast Region and in the industrial segment. Historically, growth in energy demand in developing countries has been outpacing GDP growth. Within this context, the growth in industrial consumption has served as the main driver of the significant growth in Brazil’s electricity demand.
In the 1970s, a decade in which Brazil posted strong economic growth, the average growth rate in electricity demand was 11%. In the 1980s, despite the decade’s weak economic growth, demand for electricity increased at an average annual rate of 4%. With the implementation of the economic-stimulus package known as the Real Plan in the mid nineties, this average growth rate increased to 6% per year.
Between 2002 and 2007, energy consumption posted an average annual growth rate of 4.9%, versus average annual GDP growth of 3.7% in the same period. In 2008, Brazil's total electricity consumption (which includes self-production) grew by 4.8%, lower than GDP growth, which reached 5.1%.