Social Profit of Legal Metrology in the Brazilian Electricity Sector

Abstract In Brazil, despite of the undeniable importance of metrology in society, there is still no consensus as to the most effective way to “quantify” this statement. The aims of this study is to present a method to quantify the social impact caused by legal metrological control, focusing on voluntary verification and legal metrology expertise in electrical energy meter . In this sense, this article presents a model, developed exclusively for the public sector, with the objective of quantifying the return or economy in favor of society through National Legal Metrology System direct and indirect actions in the Brazilian electricity sector, considering the 2017 year. This model is an adaptation of Social Profit mode the “Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation – Embrapa”. . Only laboratories under the control of the Legal Metrology Board, through their delegated bodies, which perform or supervise voluntary checks and metrological examinations performed by the technicians of the Brazilian Network of Legal Metrology and Quality – RBMLQ, were considered. Next step, performance indicators were proposed and validated to obtain social profit. The data show that Inmetro’s actions enable a return to society of US$ 32 million for each US$ 1 million of investment in this activity, pointing to the effectiveness of the model in quantifying the social profit of the agency. In a more detailed analysis it was possible to evaluate a potential revenue recovery for the states, throughTaxes, of the order of US$ 400 million, if the actions of expertise and verification are intensified, pointing to a promising horizon of revenue increase for the Brazilian government through the fight against fraud. Preliminary analyzes show both the massive presence and extreme remoteness of the state are not the best management models to be adopted for the electricity sector. The study suggests, at first, a direct correlation of Inmetro intervention and participation actions in partnership with the private sector in the electricity sector and revenue recovery with reduction in the increase of electric bills. Thus, we infer that the presence of the state as regulator in this case can be effective if adapted to reality. Further studies, however, need to be done. Social profit proved to be effective for use in actions to improve public governance, another point to be explored further on.