Three separate companies:
- Electricity — CELESC, for the whole state. You can transfer the account online or at an office; phone 0800 480-120. A foreigner needs a passport or CRNM and CPF, plus a lease agreement or other housing document.
- Water — CASAN. The transfer must be done in person. As of Oct 2026, an application for a new connection can be submitted online, but it is completed at a service point. Central office: Rua Saldanha Marinho, 374, Edifício Zigurate, Centro, 10:00–16:00. Emergencies and leaks: 0800 643 0195.
- Garbage — Comcap, a municipal service. Collection day depends on the neighbourhood and is checked in the app or on the website. Large furniture, appliances and electronics are taken to ecopontos or picked up by appointment — an ordinary truck will not take them.
The outlet in Santa Catarina is 220 V. The standard connection under CELESC norms is 380/220 V, and this differs from a large part of Brazil, where it is 127 V. Check equipment bought in another state before plugging it in.
Why the account should be in your name at all and why the previous occupant's debt is not yours — in Utilities in your name — electricity, water, gas, internet (in Russian); here are names, addresses and phones.
CELESC — electricity
You can transfer the account into your name in two ways: an online form in the services section on the website or in person at a service point. Phone 0800 480-120.
What is needed. Three things, and on the site they are attached as files:
- an identity document — for a foreigner this is a passport, RNE or CRNM, together with CPF;
- a selfie of the new account holder holding the same document;
- a document for the property: lease agreement, matrícula extract, purchase and sale agreement, donation or comodato agreement.
You will also need the connection point number (unidade consumidora) and the current meter readings — the previous occupant's account is closed based on them. If a representative applies — a simple copy of the power of attorney and documents of both. Online applications are processed Mon–Fri 8:00–18:00; if you did not receive a reply e-mail — call 0800 480-120.
Condition. The new account holder must not have overdue debt with CELESC. If the previous occupant completely disconnected the point, this is not a transfer but a new connection (ligação nova).
Notarising the signature is no longer required. The reconhecimento de firma requirement was cancelled after the intervention of the Ministério Público de Florianópolis, which considered it an abuse: notarisation cost time and money for no reason. If an office still asks for it, point to the cancellation, see Consumer rights in Brazil — returns, warranties, where to complain.
Tariff. ANEEL reviews electricity prices once a year, for CELESC in August. From 22 Aug 2026 to 21 Aug 2027 the residential tariff is R$ 0.75975 per kW·h without taxes; for low voltage the increase was 9.26%. With taxes in the bill it comes out higher.
On top of that comes the bandeira — a monthly ANEEL signal about generation costs. On the green flag there is no surcharge; on the yellow — R$ 0.01885 per kW·h, on the first-level red — R$ 0.04463, on the second — R$ 0.07877 (according to the ANEEL page, Oct 2026). ANEEL announces the colour for the next month at the end of the current one.
CASAN — water and sewage
The main difference from electricity: a new connection and a change of account holder must be done in person. There is an online form on the site, but it only submits an application; it does not complete the process.
What is needed — a document linking you to the property. Any of the following is acceptable: property deed or current matrícula extract, purchase and sale agreement, a valid lease agreement, an act of lease termination, for a condominium — the minutes electing the manager.
A tenant only needs the lease agreement — a separate owner permission is not required. About the lease itself and its mandatory parts — Renting housing — guarantees, deposit and tenant's rights.
Where they accept it. Service points on CASAN's page:
| Office | Address | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Centro | Rua Saldanha Marinho, 374, Edifício Zigurate | 10:00–16:00 |
| Ribeirão da Ilha | Rua Baldicero Filomeno, 106 | 10:00–16:00 |
| Canasvieiras | Rua José Rosa, 408 | 8:00–17:00, lunch 12–13 |
| Lagoa da Conceição | Rua Crisógono Vieira da Cruz, s/n | 8:00–17:00 |
| Rio Tavares | SC-405, 1318 | 8:00–17:00, lunch 12–13 |
| Continente, Coloninha | Rua João Evangelista da Costa, 827 | 8:00–17:00, lunch 12–13 |
Tariff. From 1 Apr 2026 CASAN raised tariffs by 5.80%. For residences this is a fixed fee of R$ 46.34 per month plus R$ 3.08 per m³ within the first 10 m³; beyond that it gets more expensive by tiers. Sewage costs the same as water, so the bill for an apartment connected to the network is roughly twice the water portion.
Leak or clog — call 0800 643 0195 or use the chat on the website, you do not need to go anywhere.
Is tap water drinkable
Everyone asks this in the first week, and the answer has two parts.
From the water utility's side — yes. CASAN keeps the water potable according to Ministry of Health standards and measures it: about 455 thousand tests a year statewide, of which about one hundred thousand for Florianópolis, with control of inorganic and organic substances, pesticides and disinfection by-products. Residual chlorine is maintained in the network — not less than 0.2 mg/l.
From the building's side — it depends on the building. Water in Brazilian homes almost always goes through a private tank (caixa d'água), and that is the tenant's or condominium's responsibility: cleaning is recommended once every six months. This is where quality is lost, not in the street pipe.
People in the city drink tap water, but the ubiquitous local habit is a filter or bottled water, and it is sensible to follow it until you know when the tank in your building was last cleaned. In a new apartment this is the first question for the manager.
Comcap — garbage
Comcap is a municipal service, and collection is included in city services.
Ordinary garbage and selective collection follow the schedule for each neighbourhood. The schedule differs in the north, south, east and on the mainland, and between winter and summer: in high season collection in beach areas is increased. Therefore specific days are not given here — they are in the Comcap app and on the website, and that is the only place where they are current.
What is considered selective collection: packaging, paper, plastic, metal and glass — clean. Glass in some neighbourhoods is collected on a separate day.
Bulky items, electronics and hazardous waste — to ecopontos. They are located in Itacorubi, Morro das Pedras, Canasvieiras, Rio Vermelho, Ingleses, Capoeiras, Monte Cristo, Coloninha and Costeira and accept what an ordinary truck will not take: furniture, appliances, construction waste in household amounts.
Pickup by appointment. Furniture and appliances do not have to be taken in person: the municipal environment secretariat collects up to 1 m³ from a single house by appointment via WhatsApp (48) 3216-0202, text and photo only, Mon–Fri 8:00–17:00. On the scheduled day items are placed on the sidewalk — the crew does not enter the yard.
Glass can also be taken to glass collection containers (PEV) — there are more than two hundred of them in the city.
Internet
The market in the city is competitive, fibre is available in most neighbourhoods of the island and on the mainland. Connection quality here depends on the specific building and street more than on the operator's brand — on one street a provider works excellently, a block away the same one works poorly. So ask neighbours in the building or condominium who they use and how it performs.
Sources
- T1CELESC — electricity distributor of Santa Catarina: procedure for account transfer, online form with selfie, documents for a foreigner (passport, RNE or CRNM plus CPF), proof of residence, phone 0800 480,120. Primary source on itselfcelesc.com.br · primary source
- T1CELESC — current tariffs per Resolução Homologatória ANEEL nº 3602 of 18 Aug 2026, from 22 Aug 2026 to 21 Aug 2027: residential R$ 0.75975/kW·h without taxes, increase for low voltage 9.26%celesc.com.br · primary source
- T1ANEEL — bandeiras: surcharge per kW·h for yellow, red level one and twogov.br · primary source
- T1CELESC, technical standard N-3210001: low-voltage connection standard for the state — 380/220 Vcelesc.com.br · primary source
- T1CASAN on water quality: about 455 thousand analyses per year for the state and around one hundred thousand for Florianópolis, control per Ministério da Saúde norms, residual chlorine in the network not below 0.2 mg/l; cleaning the household tank every six months is the consumer's responsibilitycasan.com.br · primary source
- T1CASAN — state water utility: list of documents proving connection to the property and requirement of personal attendance when changing the account holderonline.casan.com.br · primary source
- T1CASAN — tariffs from 1 Apr 2026, increase 5.80% per Resolução ARESC nº 389/2026: fixed fee R$ 46.34 per month, water from R$ 3.08/m³, sewage — 100% of the water tariffcasan.com.br · primary source
- T1CASAN — service points in Florianópolis: center, Rua Saldanha Marinho, 374, Edifício Zigurate, 10:00–16:00, and neighborhood offices with addresses and hourscasan.com.br · primary source
- T1Prefeitura de Florianópolis — household waste collection service: how collection is organised, where to see the schedule, bulky waste collection by appointment, neighborhoods with ecopointspmf.sc.gov.br · primary source
- T2ND Mais: CELESC canceled the requirement of notarized signature when changing account holder after intervention by the Ministério Público de Florianópolisndmais.com.br · secondary source
T1 — primary: law, agency site, price list. T2 — secondary: press, specialist sites. T3 — other.