São Paulo Municipal Government Upholds R$ 11.4 Million Fine Against Power Utility Enel

The municipal government of São Paulo has officially upheld an R$ 11.4 million fine against Enel Distribuição São Paulo, penalizing the utility for persistent power supply failures and customer service breakdowns that impacted more than 4 million consumers across the city between September and December 2025.

The administrative decision, which rejected an appeal filed by the Italian-controlled utility, was published in the municipal official gazette on a Wednesday, January 21. The penalty was originally issued by Procon Paulistano following an extensive review of service quality and consumer complaints during the final months of the previous year, a period marked by severe blackouts that left upwards of 4 million residential and commercial units without electricity.

Municipal authorities grounded the penalty in established consumer protection frameworks. The São Paulo Municipal Secretariat of Justice based its decision to maintain the fine on Article 22 of the Brazilian Consumer Defense Code, which mandates that essential public utility providers supply adequate, efficient, secure, and continuous services. Additional legal weight was drawn from Article 20 of Federal Decree No. 2,181 of 1997, alongside Article 362 of Normative Resolution No. 1,000 issued by the National Electric Energy Agency, known as Aneel.

Procon Paulistano investigators noted that the concessionaire had previously received formal notifications directing the company to implement operational changes to guarantee service continuity. However, subsequent technical monitoring and an analysis of consumer grievances revealed that operational deficiencies, telephone support failures, and inadequate public communication persisted.

In response to the confirmed penalty, Enel Distribuição São Paulo released an official statement expressing strong disagreement with the municipal government’s decision. The utility argued that its emergency response during the severe and atypical weather events of September and December 2025 was appropriate and scaled to match the magnitude of the meteorological impacts.

According to the company, prolonged and intense winds struck its concession area over a two-day period in December, disrupting service for approximately 4.4 million customers. Enel maintained that its field crews managed to restore power within 24 hours to 80 percent of those affected, equating to roughly 3.5 million consumer units. The utility asserted that this recovery timeline represented an operational improvement compared to major blackout events recorded in November 2023 and October 2024.

Despite the rejection of its initial appeal, the municipality’s administrative ruling grants Enel a 15-day window to file a secondary administrative appeal. Alternatively, the company remains eligible for a 30 percent reduction on the total value of the fine under specific conditions: the concessionaire must formally renounce its right to pursue further challenges in both administrative and judicial arenas while settling the adjusted payment within 30 days of receiving official notice.