Energy distribution company ENEL said the storm damaged overhead power lines on many streets in the city, cutting off power to 2.1 million people in Sao Paulo.
The Brazilian city of Sao Paulo remains in darkness. Photo: Reuters
“The storm was terrible. I had no electricity, no cell phone and no fuel on Friday,” said carpenter Denilson Laurindo, who blamed the city for not trimming street trees. He said ENEL promised to restore power on Tuesday (Nov. 7).
Thiago Gonzalez, an electrical engineer, had to rent a room in the neighborhood so his family could have hot showers and sleep with air conditioning. “I saw the tree fall on the transformer pole. There was an explosion and the lights went out,” he said.
Classes were canceled on Monday in the city's worst-hit neighborhoods. ENEL said it had restored service to 76% of its customers but 500,000 people remained without power on Monday.
Brazil's second-largest energy distributor and owned by Italian energy giant ENEL said the storm that hit Sao Paulo on Friday was the strongest in recent years and caused severe damage to the power grid due to massive tree falls.
Brazilian Justice Minister Flavio Dino said the government would ask the company to explain the power outage.
The Sao Paulo state prosecutor's office said it would investigate why so many customers in the city were without power for so long and whether ENEL had enough staff to deal with emergencies in the 24 districts it serves.
Trung Kien (according to Reuters)
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