In the next few hours, the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) will hold a meeting with energy distribution concessionaires in São Paulo to assess the situation and outline strategies for reestablishing electricity supply in parts of the state. Since Friday (11), millions of addresses have been left in the dark due to the occurrence of winds and storms, which left seven dead.
The meeting scheduled for 6pm will be between Aneel, representatives of the Public Services Regulatory Agency of the State of São Paulo (Arsesp) and the companies Enel SP, Neoenergia Elektro, EDP São Paulo, Energisa Sul-Sudeste, CPFL Piratininga, CPFL Paulista, CPFL Santa Cruz, Cteep and Eletrobras Furnas.
The regulatory agency’s initiative complies with a determination by the Minister of Mines and Energy (MME), Alexandre Silveira, who sent a letter, this Sunday afternoon (13), to the general director of Aneel, Sandoval Feitosa Neto. The agency is a body subordinate to the ministry, with the general director appointed by the previous government and with a mandate until 2027.
“Reiterating that this MME will not admit any omission on the part of this regulatory agency, I order your Lordship to hold a meeting, later today, with Enel and other technical teams from electricity distributors who can assist with emergency action plans for immediate resolution of the situation in SP and the metropolitan region”, says an excerpt from the document.
The minister also demands that the general director of Aneel present the contingency plan prepared by the technical teams at 10 am on Monday (14), at the headquarters of the Electricity Trading Chamber (CCEE) in São Paulo, where he will be, following determination of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Loss of concession
Silveira also recalls that, in April 2024, he ordered the opening of an administrative process to “investigate the faults and transgressions of the concessionaire, with the application of appropriate sanctions, including the declaration of forfeiture”, that is, the loss of the right to be a concessionaire .
“Aneel has a duty to act proactively, with all the rigors of the law, to inspect and prosecute the distributor Enel for all failures already identified in various events like this one that are repeated.”
On Saturday, the minister had already stated that the regulatory agency “fails to monitor” and that “there is no indication of renewal of the distributor’s concession in São Paulo”.
In a note released on Saturday, Aneel stated that it is monitoring the situation in São Paulo in person and that it has asked the inspection area to immediately summon Enel to present justifications and a proposal for immediate adjustment.
“If the company does not present a satisfactory and immediate solution for the provision of the service, the Agency will initiate a process of recommending the expiry of the concession with the MME”, records an excerpt from the note.
Addresses without power
In Friday’s episode, 2.6 million consumers were left without power in the state, 2.1 million of which were in Enel’s concession area.
The company reported that, as of 2:30 pm this Sunday, 760,000 customer addresses were still without power, having restored supply to 1.3 million customers.
According to the concessionaire, in the capital of São Paulo, there are around 496 thousand homes without energy. The most affected neighborhoods are Jabaquara, Campo Limpo, Pedreira and Jardim São Luís. In addition to the capital, the municipalities most impacted until mid-afternoon were Cotia, with 62 thousand customers without power; São Bernardo do Campo, with 47 thousand; and Taboão da Serra, with 44 thousand.
Reinforcement from other states
Minister Alexandre Silveira organized the trip to São Paulo for technicians from transmission and distribution companies from other states to urgently help normalize the situation in the state of São Paulo. They include technicians, equipment and vehicles from the transmission companies Eletrobras and ISA Cteep, and the distribution companies EDP, CPFL, Neoenergia, Light, Equatorial and Energisa.
The mayor of São Paulo, Ricardo Nunes, and the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio Freitas, have also demonstrated dissatisfaction with the service offered by the energy company and are pressing for the interruption of the concession.
“I contacted the president of the Federal Court of Auditors, Bruno Dantas, to ask for speed in the progress of Mayor Ricardo Nunes’ request regarding the serious and repeated contractual breaches by Enel in São Paulo”, wrote the governor on the social network X, (formerly Twitter), this Sunday afternoon.
“Enel’s expiry process needs to be opened immediately”, argues Tarcísio.
