Prosecutors and consumer protection bodies estimate losses of up to R$2 billion in the metropolitan region
The government of São Paulo filed a public civil action against the company, holding the company responsible for the blackouts in the metropolitan region of São Paulo in November 2023 and October 2024.
The action was filed by , in partnership with the (Public Services Regulatory Agency of the State of São Paulo) and the (Consumer Protection and Defense Foundation). The process points to failure to comply with the company’s duties in ensuring adequate public services and providing essential information for inspection.
In , the government reported that, although it did not specify the type of compensation required, it is estimated that the collective losses caused by the blackouts totaled around R$2 billion for commerce and retail, according to data from Fecomercio (Federation of Commerce of Goods, Services and Tourism in São Paulo).
Enel São Paulo, responsible for distributing energy to the capital and 24 municipalities in the metropolitan region, is bound by Concession Contract No. 162/98, signed with the Union. The government statement states that, as a concessionaire, the company has the obligation to comply with standards established in the Consumer Protection Code and in resolution No. 1000/2021 of Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency).
“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 following storms that hit the metropolitan region of the capital: the first in November 2023 and the second recently, on 11 October”it says.
BLACKOUT IN SÃO PAULO
The power outage that began on October 11 was the 2nd major blackout to hit the city in 1 year, but problems at the distributor are not restricted to the State.
The company accumulates complaints in Niterói (RJ) and Ceará. It also operated in Goiás the service improvement targets agreed with the (National Electric Energy Agency) and had its concession sold to Equatorial.
Enel is an Italian company, still with state participation from the Italian government, which took over Eletropaulo’s operations in 2018. It is considered the 2nd largest electricity distributor in the country in terms of number of consumers – behind only Cemig. In Brazil, it has operations in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Ceará. .
In November 2023, São Paulo of large proportions left the city and metropolitan region without electricity for 4 days. The blackout was the result of the storm recorded in several cities in the State and which.
