The National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) began an inspection in the Enel Rio de Janeiro concession area to investigate the cause of interruptions in energy supply last week, in Niterói, Magé and São Gonçalo, in the metropolitan region of Rio. The action seeks to determine the emergency measures adopted by the concessionaire, the extent of the interruptions and the performance in reestablishing the service.
On Tuesday last week (12), there was a fire at the concessionaire’s substation in the Alcântara neighborhood, in São Gonçalo, causing power outages in the three municipalities. On Wednesday (13) the situation worsened, affecting the water supply, as well as several services in the three cities, such as the operation of schools and restaurants and compromising service in hospitals and emergency care units (UPAs).
In Niterói alone, around 30 schools in the municipal education network were affected by the lack of electricity and full-time education units suspended classes. Enel reported that energy supply was restored to 100% of consumers late Wednesday afternoon.
The president of the Enel Rio Consumer Council, Ezequiel Siqueira, expressed concern about the infrequency of inspections carried out by Aneel. “We have long questioned the frequency of Aneel inspections. We are following the latest episodes of power outages in the company’s concession area, and I think that the process of transparency for the consumer is always necessary”, he stated. Siqueira also spoke about the importance of the council’s participation in the process: “The council would like to be heard too”.
Aneel’s inspection comes after recent episodes of power supply interruptions that affected thousands of consumers in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro. The agency says it wants to guarantee the quality of the service provided and the transparency of the information provided to consumers.
Enel Rio serves approximately 3 million consumer units in 66 of the 92 municipalities in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The other municipalities are served by the energy distributor Light.
