Strong winds leave millions in Sao Paulo without power, cutting water and flights

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SAO PAULO, Dec 11 (Reuters) – About 1.5 million homes and businesses were without electricity on Thursday after an extratropical cyclone swept through Sao Paulo’s metropolitan area, toppling trees and power lines and disrupting flights and the water supply.

Damaging wind storms also caused vast power outages in 2023 and 2024, putting utility firm Enel under intense public scrutiny.

Enel said gusts of up to 98 km/h (61 mph) battered the region during a 12-hour gale on Wednesday, with impacts lingering into Thursday across the city of 11.5 million people and the wider metro region.

About 2 million customers in the area lost electricity during the storm’s peak, Enel said in a statement early on Thursday, adding that service had been restored to 500,000.

Power regulator Aneel demanded the company provide detailed explanations for the disruptions.

Water utility Sabesp warned that outages had hit its pumps, affecting neighborhoods across the area. 

“The long time without power to pump water heavily impacted the system. Supply is being resumed gradually,” Sabesp said.

Air travel also faced disruptions. Airport operator Aena said Sao Paulo’s Congonhas Airport, which handles domestic flights, was open on Thursday but had canceled 31 arrivals and 15 departures, after scratching 181 flights on Wednesday.

At Guarulhos International Airport, one of Latin America’s busiest, 61 arrivals and 56 departures were canceled since Wednesday, its operator said in a separate statement, adding that operations were back to normal early on Thursday.

(Reporting by Leticia Fucuchima in Sao Paulo and Rodrigo Viga Gaier in Rio de Janeiro; Writing by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Brad Haynes and Bill Berkrot)