More than 15 thousand apartments and commercial establishments in Copacabana, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), were without electricity for around 12 hours this Sunday (28).
The problem started at 8:30 am on several streets and the reason for the interruption in the power supply has two versions, one of Light and another from the Military Police.
The distributor claims that a theft of cables from the company's underground network caused overheating and failures in the system, affecting the supply of electricity in the region.
The Military Police, however, highlighted that they did not receive any calls about cable theft and maintain the theory that a fire was the reason for the power outage.
Cable theft
Regardless of whether Light's version is correct or not, one fact that cannot be denied is that crimes involving theft of power cables are a recurring problem in the Rio de Janeiro.
According to Light, only in the distributor's underground network, the volume of stolen cables accumulated significant growth in 2023 compared to 2022.
Last year, more than 16 thousand meters of cables were stolen, which represented an increase of 160% compared to the previous year, when just over 6 thousand meters of wires were taken.
In 2023, crimes of this nature left more than 190 customers without power in the state. To replace the stolen equipment, Light reported that it had to spend almost R$4 million.
The concessionaire reported that it has been looking for alternatives to combat crimes. One of the solutions is to replace the raw material of the cables, exchanging copper for aluminum, which has a lower commercial value.
Impacts on the electricity bill
In addition to impacts on companies, crimes involving cable theft directly affect consumers' pockets, since the more non-technical losses there are, the more expensive the electricity bill becomes, as explained in a report by Canal Solar. Access the link and find out more by clicking here.
