President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced, this Friday (18), that the federal government will create a special line of credit for people who lost assets and were impacted by the power blackout in Greater São Paulo, which began last day 11, after a storm. Until this Thursday (17), around 36 thousand Enel customersthe concessionary company that provides the service, were still without electricity.
“I asked the [ministro da Fazenda, Fernando] Haddad and the Civil House to work, because we are going to do for the city of São Paulo what even if we did to Rio Grande do Sul[affectedbyfloodsinMaythisyearPeoplewhosufferedlossesduetotheblackoutpeoplewholostarefrigeratorpeoplewhoevenlosttheirfoodthatwasintherefrigeratorthesmallbusinessownerwholostsomethingwearegoingtoestablishalineofcreditsothatpeoplecanrecoverandliveverywell”saidLula[afetadoporenchentesemmaiodesteanoAspessoasquetiveramprejuízosporcontadoapagãoaspessoasqueperderamgeladeiraaspessoasqueperderaminclusiveasuacomidaqueestavanageladeiraopequenocomerciantequeperdeualgumacoisanósvamosestabelecerumalinhadecréditoparaqueaspessoaspossamserecuperarevivermuitobem”disseLula
“I don’t want to know who is to blame, I want to know who is going to provide a solution, and we want to find the solution”, added the president, while participating in an event in São Paulo.
Experts consulted by Brazil Agency point to bankruptcy the privatization model of the electrical distribution sector in Brazil and the lack of planning by the concessionary company Enel and the city of São Paulo as determinants in the delay in restoring electricity in the capital of São Paulo.
Around 3.1 million customers were affected by the blackout. The affected network includes 17 high voltage lines, 11 substations, 221 medium voltage circuits, 105 transformers, 251 poles and 1,492 vegetation occurrences.
The Federation of Hotels, Restaurants and Bars of the State of São Paulo (Fhoresp) has already sent a request for longer deadline for paying taxes by establishments in the sector. The request is to extend tax due dates for around 250,000 establishments that were affected by the power outage.
According to Fhoresp, the power interruption has already caused losses of around R$150 million to the sector in the first four days of the blackout. The biggest losers are micro and small entrepreneurs.
The heavy rains and winds that hit several cities in São Paulo also caused seven deaths.
