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Politics & Regulation

Under pressure, Enel announces billion-dollar investment in underground networks.

The plan is released while the state and federal governments evaluate the request to terminate the concession. ANEEL

Under pressure, Enel announces billion-dollar investment in underground networks.

Power pole with disconnected cables during a blackout in São Paulo. Photo by Rovena Rosa/Agência Brasil.

In the same week that discussions about the possible termination of Enel São Paulo's contract gained momentum, the distributor released a statement indicating its willingness to invest R$ 10 billion in expanding its underground distribution networks and digitizing its monitoring systems.

“The necessary solution requires massive investments in resilient and digitized networks, as well as the large-scale deployment of an underground distribution network. (…) The company is willing to make these investments as part of a shared strategy with all institutions involved,” the company reported.

Enel São Paulo's stance on burying the power lines is noteworthy, contrasting with previous positions where the utility had ruled out this alternative, justifying its unfeasibility based on high implementation and maintenance costs, as well as technical challenges.

This time, the announcement comes amid another episode of prolonged power outages in the city of São Paulo and surrounding metropolitan areas. Last week, thousands of customers served by the distributor were without power for more than five days after a storm caused trees to fall on power lines.

Given the recurring failures, the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, the mayor of the capital, Ricardo Nunes, and the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, announced this Wednesday (17) that they will forward to ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency) a formal request for the termination of Enel's concession contract.

ANEEL expands analysis of the dealership.

Em press release, ANEEL It reported that it has incorporated information regarding the most recent prolonged interruption into the monitoring process of Enel São Paulo, initiated after the blackout that occurred in October 2024.

In that episode, the Agency issued a summons – a preparatory step for a possible recommendation to the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) to terminate the contract. With the inclusion of the new events, the ANEEL It assesses the recurrence of failures and the fulfillment of contractual obligations by the concessionaire.

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Henrique Hein
About the Author
Henrique Hein

He worked at Correio Popular and Rádio Trianon. He has experience in podcast production, radio programs, interviews and reporting. Has been following the solar sector since 2020.

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