Brazil sues Italy's Enel for over $45M over power outage damages

A man works on a pole to restore electricity after a storm knocked down power cables in Sao Paulo, Brazil November 6, 2023. (Photo/Reuters Archive)

Brazil's solicitor general's office said that it is suing Italy's Enel for $45.12 million in collective restitution due to damages caused by last month's power outage in Sao Paulo, Latin America's largest city.

It also requested individual compensation for all consumer units that remained without power for more than 24 hours during the outage, with an estimated total cost of at least $130.9 million.

The requested individual compensation amount is of at least $86.7 per day per unit, to be paid through a discount on electricity bills.

Added to the collective compensation, the total amount to be requested from Enel could exceed $173.4 million.

Millions of consumers were affected after a violent gale knocked down power lines and caused a blackout in Sao Paulo in October, with some of them left out of power for days.

Brazilian energy regulator Aneel opened an administrative process against Enel last month.

The Italian energy group said in response to a request for comment that it "reinforces its commitment to customers and reiterates it has long been investing to improve its services" in Brazil.

"From 2024 to 2026, the company has further increased its investments to an average of approximately 2 billion reais per year, totaling 6.2 billion reais ($1 billion)," it added.

"The ongoing plan focuses on strengthening and modernising the networks, automating systems, and expanding customer communication channels."

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Source: TRT