Following last week's cyclone blackouts, the Tarcísio de Freitas administration officially demanded federal intervention in Enel's operations on December 15, citing chronic underinvestment and service failures under federal laws. Mayor Ricardo Nunes supported the call with evidence of Enel shortcomings, as outages persist for ~95,000 properties and federal penalties loom.
Building on restoration efforts that reduced outages from over 2 million to around 160,000 by December 14 (as previously reported), approximately 95,000 properties in São Paulo remained without power as of December 15, despite Enel's commitments.
In a formal statement, the state government declared federal intervention by the Ministry of Mines and Energy 'indispensable,' demanding 'maximum rigor' over insufficient investments, poor inspections, and repeated failures documented in Arsesp reports. It invoked Federal Law 8.987/95 (requiring adequate service) and Law 12.767/2012 (enabling Aneel intervention), while opposing a potential 30-year concession extension amid service to 24 municipalities.
Mayor Ricardo Nunes reinforced the critique, using Smart Sampa footage showing idle Enel vehicles during peak crisis and noting only 11% of a promised 282,271 tree prunings completed. A December 13 court order required immediate normalization with R$200,000 hourly fines, which Enel partially met.
Enel countered with data showing a 50% cut in emergency response times and 90% reduction in prolonged outages from November 2023 to October 2025, attributing fluctuations to weather. The Ministry of Mines and Energy had previously warned of possible contract cancellation. Political finger-pointing continues between state/municipal leaders and the federal government, including a December 12 dialogue pledge.
