Endless blackout: SP city hall goes to court and demands that Enel restore energy

Four days after the heavy rains that caused a new “blackout” in the city of São Paulo and in municipalities in the metropolitan region, the city of São Paulo went to court against Enel, the state’s energy concessionaire.

In the action, filed by the administration of Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB), the municipal administration demands that Enel restore electricity in places where there is still no electricity. If this does not happen, requests the city hall, the company must pay a fine of R$200,000 per day.

On Tuesday morning (15), around 220,000 properties in the metropolitan region of São Paulo were still without electricity. According to data from Enel, there are 147 thousand occurrences in the capital alone, in addition to 6.5 thousand in Diadema (SP) and 5 thousand in São Bernardo do Campo (SP).

In the petition presented to the Court, the city of São Paulo asks Enel to provide, within 24 hours, the following information:

• How long did it take for Enel to restore power supply to each unit;

• How many teams were actually made available by the concessionaire;

• What is the composition of these teams, both from a quantitative and technical point of view;

• How many services each team performed.

The city hall also requests that the company share with the municipal government, immediately and in real time, the georeferenced positioning (GPS) of the vehicles that transport teams deployed for emergency care.

Trees

According to the city of São Paulo, Enel should carry out preventive management of more than 225 thousand trees throughout the city, without depending on any authorization from the municipal administration.

“The inertia of the federal concessionaire in presenting a contingency plan consistent with the dimensions and peculiarities of the municipality of São Paulo, which takes into account the number of trees in contact with the electrical wiring or within the limits of the Controlled Zone, still persists” , says the city hall.

Measures against Enel

According to a note released by the city of São Paulo this morning, the municipal management “has already sent two letters to the Federal Court of Auditors and another two to Aneel requesting effective measures against the concessionaire, greater inspection of the concession contract and application of a fine against the Enel.”

“Mayor Ricardo Nunes also asked the regulatory agency to cancel the electricity concession contract for the city of São Paulo,” says the text.

“Last year, the municipal administration sent letters to Procon in São Paulo demanding responsibility and requesting the imposition of a fine against Enel, due to the concessionaire’s delay in restoring energy in the municipality after the blackout that hit the city”, continues the note.

“At the judicial level, the city hall filed a lawsuit forcing Enel to present a contingency plan and a preventive schedule for the rainy season. The court ruled in favor of the city hall.”

1.8 million had electricity again, says Enel

According to the balance released by Enel this Tuesday morning, more than 1.8 million customers have already had power restored to their homes.

“Enel Distribuição São Paulo has been working tirelessly since Friday night, when the concession area was hit by wind gusts of up to 107 km/h, causing severe damage to the electricity grid,” states the company. “The company reinforced its own teams in the field, received support from technicians from other distributors and relocated professionals from other states.”