ENEL may have to pay R$1 billion in compensation

Article updated on 11/11, at 15 pm, to include ENEL's position.

The concessionaire ENEL SP – which serves the capital of São Paulo and part of the State of São Paulo – may have to pay R$1 billion in compensation to electricity consumers. 

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This Friday (8/11), the AGU (Attorney General's Office) filed a public civil action so that the company compensates customers affected by the interruption in energy supply between October 11th and 17th. 

The AGU is requesting payment of R$260 million for collective moral damages and an additional R$500,00 per day in individual compensation for consumers who remained without power for more than 24 hours. 

According to ANEEL, around 900 thousand units remained without power after 24 hours of the power failure, that is, considering the minimum value of R$500,00 per unit, the amount to be paid in individual compensation could reach R$757 million. 

“Therefore, including the amount requested for collective damages (R$260 million), the total compensation to be paid by Enel could exceed R$1 billion,” said the AGU in a press release. 

The AGU claims that the company subjected consumers to an excessive amount of time to restore supply, in addition to disregarding Resolution No. 1000/2021 of the ANEEL. Additionally, the agency argues that ENEL chose to maximize its profits to the detriment of its obligation to make the necessary investments to guarantee the minimum quality of service. 

“The action presents public data provided by the company indicating that, between 2022 and 2023, although there was an increase in the company's gross profit, investments were reduced by 16%”, highlights the AGU. 

According to the Attorney General's Office, the company “deliberately chose to reduce its investments even amidst a growing demand for emergency services, thus assuming the risk of not 'ensuring regularity, continuity, efficiency, safety, timeliness, generality, courtesy in the provision of services', contractual duties that it was obliged to fulfill before the granting authority and before its consumers”, says an excerpt from the action.

“If the risk of more severe climate events at this time of year is recurrent, probable and predictable, the concessionaire has the duty to consider this risk in its activity of supplying electricity, creating mechanisms to restore service to the consumer within a reasonable period of time, precisely because it is an essential public service”, says an excerpt from the action.

What does ENEL SP say?

“Enel reinforces its commitment to its customers and reiterates that it has made significant investments to improve the services provided. The storm that hit the concession area of ​​Enel Distribuição São Paulo on October 11, with gusts of up to 107,6 km/h, was the strongest recorded in the Metropolitan Region in the last 30 years, according to the Civil Defense, and caused severe damage to the electrical distribution network. The total number of customers affected reached 3,1 million on Friday night (11/10). That same night, with the operation of automation systems and remote maneuvers, the distributor restored power to almost 1 million customers. By the end of the night of October 12 (Saturday), service was normalized for approximately 10% of consumers. The company had to rebuild entire sections of the electrical network and gradually restored power to all affected customers in less than 80 days.

In São Paulo, from 2018, when it took over the concession, to 2023, Enel invested an average of approximately R$1,4 billion per year, almost double the average of R$800 million per year made by the previous controller. As a result, the average duration of interruptions (DEC) and the average frequency of interruptions (FEC) improved by 42% and 45% in the period. The investments made in the last five years are even higher than the net profit recorded in the period. From 2024 to 2026, the company further increased investments to an average of approximately R$2 billion per year, for a total of R$6,2 billion. The current plan focuses on strengthening and modernizing networks, automating systems, and expanding the capacity of communication channels with customers. The company also reinforced its contingency action plan with the early mobilization of field teams and a significant increase in its own staff of electricians in progress, with the hiring of 1200 professionals by March 2025.”

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