Directorates of ANEEL and ONS are removed after blackout in Amapá

Due to the blackout that has been affecting Amapá for 17 days, the State Court determined, this Thursday (19), the removal of the board of directors of ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency) and the directors of ONS (National Electric Energy Operator) for a period of 30 days.

The measure aims to prevent managers from interfering in determining responsibilities for the lack of energy in Amapá.

“The bodies that oversee the electricity sector were aware of the condition of the equipment and the risks of a blackout in the State, so much so that documents from the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy), the ONS and the ANEEL indicate that the affected substation, the Macapá substation, had been operating at the limit of its capacity for around two years,” said Federal Judge João Bosco Costa.

“He continues arguing that in the 2008 auction notice, the ANEEL had already warned of the need for space for four transformers, three of which were for immediate installation, which were part of that auction. Furthermore, facts reported by the national press indicate that only two transformers were in operation at the Macapá substation”, he added.

According to Costa, the ONS, even aware of the problems and the uselessness of one of the transformers, continued to authorize the normal operation of the Gemini company, imposing itself on its directors, as well as on the directors of ANEEL, the responsibility for the countless problems that the people of Amapá have been suffering due to the blackout.

“We consider the failure of these bodies to monitor the LTME to be serious, failing to take the necessary measures to avoid the damage identified,” said the judge.

In a note, the ANEEL said he respects the court's decision, “but actions like this end up generating noise and harming work at a time when all efforts should be focused on fully reestablishing the energy supply in Amapá.”

Still in a note, the agency stated that “so far it has not been formally notified of the Federal Court's decision regarding the temporary removal of its board. However, it informs that, as soon as it is notified, it will file the appropriate appeal to reverse the decision.”

For Pedro Dante, a lawyer specializing in the Energy area at Demarest, the Judiciary has no authority to interfere in these matters. “The removal of the company’s directors ANEEL and the ONS could further harm the situation. We are having interference in technical issues that have never been seen before. They cannot interfere in specific areas, such as the energy sector, which is completely strategic and complex,” he stressed.