The company expects a long battle to maintain the electricity supply contract and is not considering selling the concession, nor does it intend to give up its renewal.
Company sources say that the population’s dissatisfaction with the delay in normalizing the service is understandable, but that the weather event that caused the problem was extreme.
Enel intends to present technical arguments to the (National Electric Energy Agency) to avoid the ca) by the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, the governor and the mayor after a meeting at Palácio dos Bandeirantes.
For the Italian company, the meeting was a political act, and not based on technical criteria. The federal government, which had been most defending the company, was led to change its position due to intense popular pressure.
The company argues that a quick outcome to the dispute, in a few months, as Tarcísio and Nunes particularly want, will not be possible. In the words of a company interlocutor, the process will be neither short nor simple.
In addition to the forfeiture action itself, it would be necessary to organize a new tender in the event of interruption of the contract, in a process that could take up to 18 months. In the meantime, there would be interruption of investments being made to make the system more resilient.
For now, legal actions are not on the table, and the priority is to focus on the administrative route.
Enel says it has a robust technical arsenal to defend itself and maintain the concession. It states that it invested R$10 billion in improving the system and hiring electricians.
According to company data, in the crisis generated by last week’s cyclone, 3,800 technicians were mobilized, double the number for an event in October last year. In the company’s corridors, there is outrage over the accusation made by Nunes that only 40 company cars took to the streets during the crisis.
Another argument is that no concessionaire would be able to provide a better service given the strength of the winds that hit the city last Wednesday (10). In other words, changing the company would not bring any real gain in quality.
Enel also intends to increasingly insist on defending the burial of wires, which would be the most important action to minimize future blackouts. It is an expensive and time-consuming process, but progress could be made quickly if there is planning, says the company.
An additional issue, according to people who follow the topic, would be the possibility of an impact on relations between Brazil and Italy, given the European country’s shareholding in the company.
Enel has 90% of the Italian energy market and 30% of the Spanish one, for example, in addition to being present in other countries, which brings political weight. It is speculated that the issue would have contributed to the decision not to sign the trade agreement with Mercosur, this Wednesday (17).
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