Blackout in SP causes more than R$1.65 billion in losses, says economist

Last Friday (11), a major storm hit the capital of São Paulo and other metropolitan regions of São Paulo causing instability in the electricity supply. To date, a loss of around R$1.65 billion in retail trade and other different services is estimated. However, economists stipulate that the sector's loss could be even greater, as this calculation did not take into account all the factors that involved what happened.

Damage could be even greater

In an interview with the news outlet CNN, André Sacconato, economic advisor at FecomercioSP, stated that the current calculation only takes into account sales that were no longer made, but does not take into account other factors such as the huge loss of stock, mainly of products that require refrigeration.

The power cut also happened over the weekend, making the losses even greater as it affected the busiest days for businesses. “These data were compiled taking into account that, on weekends, commerce in São Paulo tends to earn, on average, R$1.1 billion per day, while services have revenues of R$2.3 billion”declared FecomercioSP.

_{Blackout in São Paulo (Photo: reproduction/Matheus Moreira/g1)}

The Federation of Hotels, Restaurants and Bars of the State of São Paulo (Fhoresp) has so far recorded a loss of R$150 million. The federation even notified the energy company declaring an emergency situation and demanding compensation for the most affected establishments.

Both Fhoresp and the city of São Paulo intend to take legal action against Enel for the delay in responding and the poor quality of services. The city hall also highlights that this was not the first time that the city was affected by long power cuts.

Still no forecast for energy stabilization

Enel, the company that sells and distributes energy in Greater São Paulo, has not yet been able to stabilize the electricity supply in all affected points and has not even set a date for the normalization of the service.

The company stated that it is doing everything possible and hopes to achieve normality within three days.

Featured photo: real currency (Reproduction/Mario Tama/Gatty Images Embed)