São Paulo mayor barks at power company, but doesn’t bite

São Paulo Mayor Ricardo Nunes said Thursday that he has asked permission from Brazil’s federal energy regulator to cancel the city’s contract with private power distributor Enel after a massive storm on November 3 left millions without electricity for several days.

However, the city hall’s press office would not confirm to The Brazilian Report whether Mr. Nunes had formally made the request.

Distribution company Enel is subject to regulations enforced by Aneel, a federal agency.

Enel, an Italian multinational group, won a public tender in 2018 to acquire Eletropaulo, a now-defunct state-owned electricity company. At the time, Eletropaulo was already under the control of a private company, the U.S.-based AES, which sold its stake.

On Thursday, a day after heavy rains hit the city and left many residents without power once again, the mayor said the situation had become “unacceptable.”

“Enel can no longer stay here in São Paulo. It is unacceptable to have a company like this that hasn’t a drop of respect for the population and has left people without electricity for almost a week,” Mr. Nunes said.

Mr. Nunes had previously been heavily criticized on social media for his lenient approach to the problem. On November 5, while millions of people were still without power, he attended the São Paulo Grand Prix at the city’s Interlagos motorsport circuit.

Aneel’s press office told The Brazilian Report that it has given “maximum priority” to the situation in the São Paulo area and that it is investigating responsibilities and possible sanctions, but also did not confirm whether or not Mr. Nunes filed a request to cancel the contract.

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