Experts consulted by Brazil Agency point out the failure of the privatization model of the electrical distribution sector in Brazil and the lack of planning by the concessionary company Enel and the city hall as determining factors in the delay in restoring electricity in the capital of São Paulo. A blackout, which started last Friday (11), still affects part of the capital of São Paulo this Wednesday (16).
According to electrical engineer Ikaro Chaves, the deterioration in the quality of service provision in the distribution of electricity, as observed in São Paulo, highlights the failure of the Brazilian electricity sector model, based on privatization and state regulation of the sector.
“Next year, it will be 30 years since the first distributor was privatized, which was the distributor in Espírito Santo. It’s time enough for us to evaluate this model, whether it worked or not. And I think it’s more than proven that it hasn’t worked”, highlighted Chaves.
“The main issue here is that the model has failed. And why did the model go bankrupt? In fact, because it is clear: you are talking about a monopolistic sector. It is not possible for competition to act from the point of view of benefiting the consumer”, he added.
The engineer highlights that the regulation of the sector, carried out by a regulatory agency – whose function is to defend the public interest in the sector’s privatized model – has also proven to be flawed.
“The cost of labor cannot be incorporated into the tariff. This is a cost that has to be managed by the company. And, at least, the justification that Aneel herself [Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica] is that this aims to increase efficiency. And how will the dealership increase the profit margin? It can only increase by reducing expenditure. It will reduce personnel expenses”, says Chaves.
According to the São Paulo Electricity Workers Union, in the last six months Enel has dismissed 227 maintenance employees, responsible for reconnecting the power grid.
“This model has not worked. It is a model that always leads to the precariousness of work. And people forget that maintenance is necessarily done by people. So, preventive maintenance, such as changing equipment, cleaning insulators, checking, thermography, in short, all preventive maintenance is done by people”, says Ikaro Chaves.
For the professor at the Department of Energy Engineering and Electrical Automation at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo, José Aquiles Baesso Grimoni, the delay in reconnecting the electricity grid in the capital of São Paulo is mainly related to the lack of coordination between the concessionaire and the city hall.
According to him, the crisis committee in the city of São Paulo did not work. “As the tree falls and hits the power grid, it can cause a shutdown and then you have to remove the tree first to be able to restore the grid and energize all the houses. There was a little lack of coordination, perhaps the crisis committee. It’s an emergency situation, so everyone involved has to sit down, talk, plan and speed up the restoration.”
The professor emphasizes that the solution suggested for the problems of recurring power outages faced in the capital of São Paulo is the burial of the network. However, to make this type of change, federal, state and municipal action will be necessary.
“There must be investment from the city hall, the state and the federal government to carry out this burial, because if it is left to the energy distributor, it will want to pass these costs on to consumers,” he said.
Grimoni highlights that the decision to bury the electrical network may face political and economic problems, as the procedure is expensive and does not gain much visibility.
“The whole problem is a bit of this issue of being buried, you don’t get a vote, you don’t see it, you don’t inaugurate it. So, there is a political side too. The blanket is short, as they say. But I think the problem is not technical. The problem is political and economic.”
