Three days after the cyclone, São Paulo still has more than 500,000 properties without electricity | Brazil

During the fifth power outage to hit the capital of São Paulo and the metropolitan region in just over two years, since November 2023, the total number of people affected is 520,715.

In the capital, the outage affects 365,491 customers who complain about Enel’s delay in resuming supplies and are having difficulty maintaining their routine.

On Friday evening, residents of Bexiga, in the central region of São Paulo, protested against the lack of energy. They are facing the problem for the third day in a row. With flashlights in hand and pots banging, a group of people marched through the streets shouting “we want light”.

Residents of Grajaú, in the southern zone, also demonstrated on Teotônio Vilela Avenue. The group set tires on fire and closed the avenue. Military police were on site to clear traffic.

The São Paulo Justice Court accepted a request from the Public Prosecutor’s Office and ordered Enel to restore electricity to all customers in its concession area in São Paulo within 12 hours, under penalty of an hourly fine of R$200,000.

Furthermore, Judge Gisele Valle Monteiro da Rocha, of the 31st Civil Court, determined that the concessionaire must immediately reconnect the energy “as soon as this decision is known, or failing that, if there are not yet immediate technical conditions for the normalization of the service, within a maximum period of four hours”, in the following situations and places:

– Hospital units and health services, including the 114 units without electricity since Thursday (11);

– Electrical dependents registered with the dealer, whose lives depend on continuous power;

– Essential public institutions, such as police stations, prisons and security facilities;

– Nurseries, schools and collective spaces, particularly due to examinations and entrance tests;

– Water supply and sanitation systems, such as Sabesp installations and condominiums with electric pumps;

– Places which concentrate vulnerable people, such as the elderly and people with disabilities.

In a statement, Enel did not mention legal deadlines or confirm whether it would respect the determination, but said that “it has respected all the commitments established in the concession contract and has structurally strengthened the company’s operational plan.”

The plan includes hiring more electricians, increasing preventative maintenance and pruning branches in contact with the power grid, early mobilization of field crews based on weather forecasts, among other actions.

The company also stressed that it “remains committed to the continuous improvement of all services provided to its customers.”