A Enel stated, on Monday morning (06), that 500 thousand properties of Greater São Paulo remains without electricity – almost 70 hours after heavy rain and gusty winds that hit the state.
According to the company, energy has already been restored to 82% of customers whose supply was impacted. To date, around 1,7 million customers have had their service normalized, out of a total of approximately 2,1 million affected.
In a statement, Enel said that the storm was the strongest in recent years and caused severe damage to the distribution network. According to the company, the South and West zones were the most impacted regions, due to the complexity of the repair and the need for reconstruction.
“Our efforts are focused on rebuilding the destroyed sections and normalizing the situation. Our professionals are working 24 hours a day to normalize supply as soon as possible”, they highlighted.
Due to the complexity of the work to rebuild the network affected by falling large trees and branches, the company said that recovery will occur gradually. “Working together with the Fire Department, City Hall and other authorities, we are prioritizing the most critical cases, such as essential services.”
Also in note, the ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency), together with the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy), stated that it has been monitoring the impacts caused by the heavy rains last Friday (03).
“As such, the energy distribution concessionaires are forwarding information to the Agency about the situation. Federal, state and municipal authorities are also being informed about the measures adopted”, they emphasized.
A ANEEL requested that distributors take steps to restore supply to the affected regions as quickly as possible. In addition, they determined that Arsesp, an agency affiliated with the state of São Paulo, closely monitor the situation of distributors to mitigate the impact of the incidents.
Story
Wagner Freire, journalist from Canal Solar, lives in the Campo Limpo neighborhood, located in the south of São Paulo, and reported that he has been without power since 16:30 pm on Friday (03). “It’s been more than 60 hours and I haven’t even received an SMS from Enel.”
“Many fallen trees nearby, damaged wires and poles and no sign from Enel. Everything that was in the fridge is lost. I wonder what must have happened to those who depend on devices to live. I've also been without internet all this time, as 4G works poorly. I can only use my cell phone because I went to charge the device at a family member’s house,” she said.
“Many people spent the weekend at the Campo Limpo shopping center to be able to charge their cell phones. The few establishments that were open, such as pizzerias, were full, as people had nothing to do at home. To make matters worse, the darkness is a concern on the security side, as many houses are totally vulnerable”, commented Freire.
To communicate a power outage, Enel advises customers to access the company's digital channels through the Enel São Paulo app and the Enel virtual agency. website.
Historic gale
The city of São Paulo has not recorded wind gusts of more than 100 km/h, like the one that hit the capital last Friday afternoon, since 1995. The data comes from the City Hall's CGE (Emergency Management Center) and were informed by Mayor Ricardo Nunes at a press conference at the Enel Operations Center this Saturday afternoon (04).
