Amid complaints from the population in São Paulo and in several neighborhoods of the capital, the government (Republicans) and management () avoid holding , privatized since July 2024, responsible, as they did with .
When approached by the Panel, the government and City Hall presented different explanations to justify the difference in treatment in relation to water and electricity concessionaires.
While the state government pointed out that there is a difference in the contracts between Enel and Sabesp, highlighting that it had drawn up a “rigid and robust” contract before privatizing the water and sanitation company, the São Paulo City Council said that the region is facing the biggest drought in recent years, associated with record heat waves, as occurred with the water crisis between 2014 and 2015, and criticized the report for the questions.
“Folha, however, seems to disregard the reality published, at the time, in several printed and online reports, making an undue and worrying comparison between the energy supply service by Enel and the water supply service by Sabesp. There is no lack of energy in the state, but successive management failures on the part of the Enel concessionaire, something different from the water scenario, in which the scarcity of water supply is notorious”, said the Nunes management in a note.
In December, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira (PSD), announced together with Tarcísio and Nunes that he would start the deal with Enel in São Paulo. At the time, a blackout had left more than 2 million properties without electricity. Some homes were without power for more than a week.
Since 2023, the Nunes management has been at odds with Enel amid energy shortage crises, with each holding the other responsible for the actions that must be adopted. The state government has also criticized the energy company, which was even the target of a CPI in the Legislative Assembly.
The Secretary of Environment and Infrastructure of the São Paulo government, Natália Resende, told the column that, in the case of Enel, there are two aspects stipulated in the contract that are repeatedly disrespected: the frequency of interruption of services and the delay in restoring power to several homes.
Sabesp, according to the state government, announced in August that it would reduce water pressure for a longer period at night to try to reduce the effects of the dry period. The company, today, as a strategic investor.
“In the case of Sabesp, the infrastructures are old, there are contractual expansion cycles, historical challenges. These are not problems that started with privatization, they have existed for years”, stated Natália. She added that the company must plan for prevention and contingency after the structural reforms provided for in the privatization contract.
Arsesp (Public Services Regulatory Agency of the State of São Paulo) told the Panel that it monitors in real time the situation of all municipalities served by Sabesp – there are 375, out of a total of 645 cities in the state – and that it demands “immediate action” in cases of complaints about the company.
“Since the privatization, in July 2024, until December 2025, 907 inspection actions were carried out in Sabesp’s concession area, with the application of 13 fines, which already total more than R$ 200 million in fines. Another 20 reports are in the final phase and could result in new sanctions”, it says in a note.
Sabesp stated that it had reinforced its service teams by 40% and its fleet of water trucks by 50% to guarantee emergency supply to some of the areas most affected by the drought.
“During the period, the daily average of notifications of water shortages and low pressure from customers in the São Paulo Metropolitan Region remained around 0.1% of the total number of regular connections,” stated the company.
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