A significant number of Brazilian households encounter difficulties in accessing basic energy services, which is linked to a higher proportion of this type of expense in their budgets. The cost of residential electricity in Brazil has been steadily increasing since 2014, attributed to a combination of crises, climate factors, and the characteristics of the Brazilian electricity sector. Furthermore, there has been an increase in household electricity consumption, propelled by public policies and the economic improvements experienced in the country in recent decades. Based on this context, the objective of this paper is to assess the extent to which people's nutrition can be impacted due to the substantial share of electricity expenses in family income. With around 36% of the population in a condition of food insecurity, Brazil is an interest case study as the country has a nature of the energy expenditures which, unlike other countries, is not primarily due to the effects of high energy demands in winter and summer but is predominantly a structural economic issue involving the evolution of household income and expenditures and the rise in electricity prices. Utilizing probability models incorporating binary and multinomial categorical variables, alongside the instrumental variables (IV) method, the paper identifies the influence of electricity expenditure on household disposable income and food choices. Variations in expenditure and the proportion of electricity costs within family budgets exhibit significant disparities based on income levels. Families navigating trade-offs in essential expenditures often prioritize maintaining energy costs, potentially at the expense of compromising food quantity or quality. Anticipated results suggest an increased susceptibility to food insecurity in such households, contributing to a better understanding of the issue and informing policy interventions.
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