Amapá without electricity: privatization of the electric company can be undone
The president of the Federal Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (DEM-AP), said on Sunday (8) that he will charge the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) for a thorough investigation to investigate the responsibilities of the company that manages the substation that caught fire in the last November 3, leaving 14 of the 16 municipalities in Amapá without electricity.
According to the senator, who is from Amapá from Macapá, the energy concessionaire Linhas de Macapá Transmissora de Energia (LMTE), which is the responsibility of the Spanish company Isolux, should lose the concession, and the undertaking will be taken over by the federal company Eletronorte, a subsidiary of Eletrobrás. State-owned employees are even responsible for resuming energy supply in Amapá.
The Spanish company has a history of poor services in the electricity sector and, even so, won the concession to distribute energy in Amapa. Isolux has already given a loss of US$ 476 million to the US state of Indiana, where it also provided services, and ended up being expelled.
In an interview with state, the senator explained that his request reflects the desire of the people from Amapá for clarification on the causes of the fire that occurred at the LMTE substation, as well as an exemplary punishment for those responsible “so that this tragedy never happens again.”
What happened in Amapá?
Last Tuesday (3), a fire caused by a lightning strike destroyed two of the three transformers operating in the largest LMTE substation in Amapá. With the inoperability of this equipment, there is a need to install new transformers to restore the load in the state.
Electricity only started to return on Saturday (7) and the following day, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, declared that 76% of the supply had been restored, although the population complained to the state that there was still instability in power delivery.
The Federal Court has already determined a daily fine of R$ 15 million for the concessionaire if the service is not resumed within three days. LMTE stated in a note that it is working “uninterruptedly” to ensure the full restoration of electricity supply in Amapá.
