A extratropical cyclone with strong winds on december 10 left over 2 million homes without power in são paulo, exponentially increasing demand for generators. Rental companies report sold-out stocks and hundreds of daily calls, while authorities debate responsibilities with enel utility. The event caused estimated r$ 100 million losses for sectors like restaurants and hotels.
The blackout began on december 10, 2025, after an extratropical cyclone with winds up to 98 km/h, initially affecting 2.5 million homes and businesses in greater são paulo, according to enel data. By the afternoon of december 12, about 700,000 properties were still without power in the state, with 482,000 in the capital. The utility classified remaining cases as 'high complexity' and provided no restoration timelines, deploying 1,600 teams for repairs.
Demand for generators surged, depleting stocks at rental firms. Edimar araujo sousa, ceo of multipower geradores, said all 140 units were rented, half taken in the last two days. 'The demand is exponential; even if we had ten times more, it wouldn't be enough to meet it', sousa stated, prioritizing elderly with respirators and hospitals. Tecnogera received 2,500 calls per day versus 50 normally, per jorge moreno, director of new business. Rental prices range from r$ 2,000 to r$ 10,000 daily, plus diesel.
Politically, mayor ricardo nunes (mdb) and governor tarcísio de freitas (republicanos) pressed for federal intervention in enel during a meeting with president lula in osasco. Nunes displayed data on 498,000 properties without power, and lula joked it was 'tarcísio's fault', promising to send minister alexandre silveira to discuss. São paulo's public prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit demanding immediate reconnection, with r$ 200,000 hourly fines. Fhoresp estimated r$ 100 million losses for 5,000 restaurant and hotel establishments, the seventh blackout in under two years.
Enel blamed the city hall for inadequate tree trimming, while nunes filed a complaint with aneel, which gave five days for explanations. This marks the fifth outage in são paulo since november 2023, underscoring recurrent planning failures for extreme weather events.
