Aneel grants Enel São Paulo deadline in concession revocation process

The Brazilian National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) has granted Enel São Paulo a 10-day deadline to present final arguments in an administrative process that could lead to the early termination of its power distribution concession. The concession, which covers 24 municipalities in the Greater São Paulo metropolitan area, was originally scheduled to run until 2028.

The investigation follows a series of major power outages caused by extreme weather events in late 2023 and 2024, which left millions of customers without electricity. While Enel has argued that the weather events were exceptional and claims to have reduced long-term interruptions by 88% since 2023, Aneel has rejected the company's request for a new technical expert analysis, deeming existing evidence sufficient.

On Tuesday, Aneel's board is scheduled to review an appeal from Enel regarding the opening of the revocation process. There is internal agency momentum toward recommending that the Ministry of Mines and Energy cancel the contract. The Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, has stated that the ministry will comply with the agency's eventual decision.