The government of the state of São Paulo filed a public civil action against Enel, the concessionaire responsible for electricity distribution for the state, for the blackouts that occurred last year and this year. The action was motivated by frequent failures in the energy services offered by Enel, especially during the recent storms that left millions of people without electricity for days at a time.
“The objective of the action is to protect the rights of São Paulo citizens and consumers served by the concessionaire, which presented two serious operational failures after storms that hit the metropolitan region of the capital”, explains the government of SP in a note.
In two episodes — one in November 2023 and the other in October 2024 — heavy rains caused an interruption in the power supply to millions of consumers in Greater São Paulo. In the first case, in 2023, around 2.1 million people were left without electricity, and full restoration only occurred six days after the blackout.
In the most recent one, after a new storm, 3.1 million consumers were affected and were left without electricity supply for several days. According to data from Fecomercio, the estimated loss is R$2 billion for local businesses. Even after the climate stabilized in the region, there were still reports of supply failures.
According to the state government, there were “failures to fulfill duties in providing adequate public services and providing access to the concession’s inspection bodies, hiding essential data for regulatory actions” on the part of Enel. The action is filed through the State Attorney General’s Office (PGE), together with the Public Services Regulatory Agency of the State of São Paulo (Arsesp) and Procon.
AGU asks for compensation
The Attorney General’s Office (AGU) also went to court against Enel and asked for compensation for collective moral damages of R$260 million, in addition to individual financial compensation for each consumer who was left without power for more than 24 hours. The compensation requested for consumers is at least R$500 per day of interruption.
Adding these amounts to collective moral damages, the total compensation could exceed R$1 billion. The idea is that individual compensations will be applied as discounts on the energy bills of affected consumers. The body also highlights that Enel has the obligation to provide an adequate service, in accordance with Resolution No. 1000/2021 of the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel).
The aforementioned standard establishes standards of continuity and efficiency, and sets a 24-hour deadline for the restoration of energy in units located in urban areas. The government argues that Enel failed to meet these requirements, in addition to failing to meet service quality targets.
With this action, the government of São Paulo seeks to hold Enel responsible for the blackouts that occurred in the state, in addition to ensuring compensation for the losses suffered by the population and the commercial sector. The measure is also intended to prevent further prolonged outages.
