The MPF (Federal Public Ministry) filed a lawsuit with the aim of holding public and private agents responsible for the failures that led to the cut in the electricity supply in 13 of the 16 municipalities of Amapá in November 2020, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The agency is asking that the defendants compensate consumers for moral, collective and social damages, in amounts that could reach R$70 billion.
The blackout began on November 3 and lasted for 21 days until the power supply was fully restored. At the time, 90% of the population of Amapá was left in the dark during a period of heavy rain and flooding.
The event even led to the postponement of the general elections in 2020. In addition to the energy supply, the problem also affected the continuity of public and private services, such as water supply, telecommunications systems, banking and health services.
The MPF concluded that the blackout was caused by failures and omissions by energy companies and bodies in the electricity sector.
The defendants in the action are the Union, the ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency), ONS (National Electric System Operator), LMTE (Macapá Electric Energy Transmission Lines), CEA (Amapá Electricity Company) and EPE (Energy Research Company).
LMTE's parent companies, Gemini Energy and Energisa SA, and CEA's parent company, Equatorial Participações e Investimentos II SA, were also sued.
The action, signed by the Federal Prosecutor Sarah Teresa Cavalcanti de Britto, was filed on February 1st of this year.
In the lawsuit, the MPF details the contribution of each agent to the occurrence of the “biggest energy security disaster in the history of the SIN (National Interconnected System)”.
The investigation revealed failures such as failure to comply with safety criteria by LMTE, negligence by ONS regarding the reliability of the system, and failure to comply with energy rotation by CEA, during the blackout.
Furthermore, the action questions the omission of ANEEL in the inspection of the sector and the lack of planning by EPE. The document highlights that LMTE was negligent and did not carry out periodic maintenance on the transformers at the Macapá Substation, which was the original cause of the blackout.
It is also pointed out that the transmitter failed to comply with legal and regulatory standards in the sector, as well as service provision standards.
The ONS, in turn, was aware of the unavailability of equipment and the postponement of deadlines for completing maintenance, but did not act to overcome the system's fragility.
Still in relation to Aneel, the MPF points out that the agency was aware that LMTE had been operating below the quality of other transmitters for years and that, since 2019, SE Macapá had been operating without a backup transformer.
The municipality also contributed to the early deactivation of UTE Santana (from 2024 to 2019), without considering Amapá's redundancy system, which could guarantee the continuity of energy in the event of a failure.
In the action, the MPF requests the blocking of 30% of the Union's budget allocated to advertising and propaganda from 2025, and 20% of the total EPE budget, also from 2025, for deposit in court.
Furthermore, it requires that LMTE immediately deposit R$70 million in court. The action also seeks t and several liability for the damages caused to the population.
all the content of Canal Solar is protected by copyright law, and partial or total reproduction of this site in any medium is expressly prohibited. If you are interested in collaborating or reusing part of our material, please us by email: [email protected].
