There are phrases that are not only unfortunate; they are revealing. When the global CEO of Enel stated that "only Jesus" could prevent blackouts in São Paulo, the intention may have been to convey the force of nature.
But the subtext that reaches the consumer is different: as if the failure were inevitable, almost a destiny. But electricity is not a catechism. It is an essential public service, regulated, measured, and contractually enforceable.
No one in their right mind denies that storms bring down trees. The question is: why does this still turn into prolonged collapse often enough to become a fixture on the city's calendar?
In infrastructure, weather events are variable; recurring blackouts are a symptom. And symptoms are treated methodically: vegetation management with real priority, network automation, reclosers, redundancy in critical circuits, properly sized teams, rapid response logistics, tested contingency plans, transparent communication, and auditable goals. Miracles don't have SLAs. Operations do.
The "only Jesus"It functions like a comfortable curtain: it shifts the debate from what is measurable to what is indisputable. Because against the divine there is no audit. Against the wind there is no deadline. Against the tree there is no penalty."
But there are indeed instruments in place to combat failure to meet continuity standards: oversight, sanctions, and, ultimately, termination. Not as a spectacle—but as a governance mechanism when service delivery deteriorates and public trust is broken.
And that's where the most embarrassing part comes in: in Brazil, obsolescence often appears as a rhetorical ghost—it's frightening in speech, disappears in practice, and reappears after the next blackout.
The consumer hears the word, breathes a sigh of relief for five minutes, and when the next rain comes, returns to the familiar ritual: charged flashlight, refrigerator at risk, business at a standstill, routine suspended.
The state signals, the system repeats, the city pays. If the consequence never materializes, the message that remains is simple and dangerous: the contract becomes a piece of paper with no practical effect.
The CEO's statement also paints a less than flattering picture of the country. A global metropolis cannot appear hostage to justifications that sound like resignation. The problem isn't the religious irony; it's what it suggests about standards of expectation. When the top leadership of a group implies that human solutions are insufficient, the inevitable question is: insufficient for whom? For meteorology, perhaps. For the contract, no.
La Fontaine taught that, in fables, the wolf always finds a reason to blame the lamb—what matters is not the cause, but the already decided outcome.
In the electric version, the tree becomes the perfect lamb: always available, always convincing, always absolving. But concession isn't a fable. And the consumer shouldn't be a character condemned to the same ending, chapter after chapter.
If the Enel He believes the problem is "nature," great: let him present a public plan with verifiable deliverables and a set deadline—not a metaphor with infinite margin. Percentage of automated circuits per quarter.
Vegetation management schedule for critical areas. Restoration standards by neighborhood. Capacity to mobilize teams in crisis situations. Transparency in indicators and execution. This is what separates bad luck from incompetence, a storm from lack of control, a routine event.
From the perspective of the granting authority, the demand is even more basic: less rhetoric and more consequence. If the service improves, acknowledge it. If it doesn't improve, correct it. If you don't correct it, replace it. The sector's credibility doesn't stem from promises of rigor—it stems from applied rigor. Expiration isn't a dirty word; it's the institutional name for "enough is enough."
If keeping the lights on in São Paulo requires a miracle, then it's not about concessions—it's about faith. And faith isn't something you monitor: it's something you demand.
The opinions and information expressed are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the author. Canal Solar.
