Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira criticized São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) and São Paulo Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB) for, in his view, turning energy distribution failures in the capital of São Paulo into a political conflict.
According to the minister, the federal government “is focused exclusively on restoring” electricity after the effects of the extratropical cyclone that hit the metropolitan region of São Paulo this Wednesday (10).
“While the governor of São Paulo and the mayor of the state capital prefer to turn an extreme weather episode into a political conflict, the Brazilian government remains focused on what really matters: restoring electricity to the population quickly and safely,” said Silveira, in a note sent to Leaf.
According to the minister, wind gusts exceeding 110 km/h caused significant power cuts in several regions of São Paulo. The Ministry of Mines and Energy says it has activated Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency) to strengthen supervision of Enel and installed a situation room for continuous monitoring.
Of the nearly 2.5 million consumers affected, around 1.5 million have already seen their service restored, according to the minister. Other distributors were mobilized to support Enel in the reconnection.
Silveira said he “seeks to maintain an open dialogue with Mayor Ricardo Nunes and Governor Tarcísio de Freitas, as has always happened in other emergency situations.”
The minister also said that any failure or omission by the distributor will be investigated by the regulatory agency, which will apply sanctions where appropriate.
The governor of São Paulo declared, also this Thursday, that the state is hostage to Enel and once again requested the intervention and confiscation of the concession contract for the supply of electricity in the metropolitan region.
The company is already working to extend the contract by 30 years, which expires in 2028.
“We have a very old contract with the Ministry of Mines and Energy and that is regulated by Aneel (a federal authority). We need investments to automate the network because every year we will have weather events,” said Tarcísio.
Tarcísio also refuted statements made by Alexandre Silveira in September. At the time, government minister Lula suggested that Tarcísio and the mayor of São Paulo, Ricardo Nunes (MDB), were acting in a populist manner, but that the contract should only be renewed after analysis and technical studies.
“Every weather event will have problems, and I have said that and there has been criticism from the minister saying he is trying to play politics. As for these people who are without power in their homes, when will the power be restored? This installation will take a few days,” the governor said.
When contacted for the report, Enel did not comment on the governor’s statements. In a note published on Thursday, the dealership informed that São Paulo and the metropolitan area were hit by a wind storm considered historic by Inmet, which lasted about 12 hours yesterday.
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