Tens of thousands in Sao Paulo were plunged into darkness as a powerful windstorm toppled trees onto the city’s power grid, prompting widespread outages and the cancellation of hundreds of flights. By late Thursday, more than 1.3 million residents remained without electricity, officials said, after winds that began the day before disrupted the metropolitan area.
Utility provider Enel reported that it had restored power to about 1.2 million of its roughly 2.2 million customers in and around Sao Paulo, while an additional 300,000 customers lost power again on Thursday. The company attributed the outages to winds reaching around 100 kilometers per hour (approximately 62 miles per hour) that started affecting the city on Wednesday. Enel did not specify a completion date for all repairs.
Enel noted that in some districts, repairs were slowed by the need to reconstruct entire sections of the grid. The company also said it would supply generators to hospitals and other clients who rely on essential electrical equipment.
City authorities reported that 231 trees had fallen, attributing the damage to the effects of an extratropical cyclone forming in southern Brazil. Aviation authorities indicated that most flight cancellations occurred at Congonhas Airport in the city, though Guarulhos International Airport outside São Paulo was also affected.
Mayor Ricardo Nunes, whose administration handles tree-trimming near the grid, told reporters late Wednesday that he had warned Enel that the company was not prioritizing fixes adequately. He criticized the utility as “irresponsible,” noting that the grid’s condition was already deteriorating the day before, with more than 2 million residents without power.
On Thursday, many residents observed Enel-branded vehicles in the company’s downtown Sao Paulo parking lot, fueling public anger. Water utility Sabesp warned that the outages were impacting pumping stations and water delivery.
With power out, many residents sought refuge in shopping centers and cafes to maintain connectivity and work. Psychologist Thaisa Fernandes, 45, who lost electricity at home in Vila Madalena, treated online clients from a nearby snack shop while the outage persisted.
She described receiving multiple, unfulfilled restoration estimates and criticized both the company and local authorities for failing to restore service reliably, noting that this was the third outage she had experienced this year.
As Thursday progressed, long lines formed at Congonhas Airport as passengers waited for information about flight schedules, a situation that also affected other Brazilian airports, according to travelers and airline staff. The disruption underscored ongoing tensions between residents, local government, and the utility provider amid one of the region’s most significant outages in recent memory.
Would you side with the residents who demand faster, more transparent restoration efforts, or with the utility’s need to perform substantial infrastructure work that takes time to complete? Share your view in the comments.
