Due to fraud, Eletropaulo will return R$ 626 million.

A São Paulo energy concessionaire charged for investments that were not made, as discovered by the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel); the fine for attempting to deceive consumers was in the millions; according to the agency, between 2002 and 2011, the company considered the existence of 246 meters of cables in its asset base in its tariff processes, but only 10 meters were present; the company, which has the right to appeal, has not yet commented; lax oversight by the Energy Secretariat, controlled by the "entangled" José Aníbal (PSDB), helps explain the chaotic situation in the sector.

December 17, 2013, 16:29 AMUpdated July 10, 2018, 08:04 pm

A São Paulo energy concessionaire charged for investments that were not made, as discovered by the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel); the fine for attempting to deceive consumers was in the millions; according to the agency, between 2002 and 2011, the company considered the existence of 246 meters of cables in its asset base in its tariff processes, but only 10 meters were present; the company, which has the right to appeal, has not yet commented; lax oversight by the Energy Secretariat, controlled by the "entangled" José Aníbal (PSDB), helps explain the chaotic situation in the sector (Photo: Gisele Federicce)

247 - Eletropaulo was fined millions of reais for deceiving its consumers. According to Aneel (the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency), the São Paulo-based energy concessionaire charged subscribers for investments it claimed to have made, but did not. The company, which can still appeal in court, will now have to reimburse its customers R$ 626 million over the next four years.

The chaotic energy situation in the state, which suffers from blackouts and now discovers it was being cheated by the company providing the service, is the result of lax oversight by the Energy Secretariat, controlled by José Aníbal (PSDB), who is involved in allegations of cartel formation and a bribery scheme in the São Paulo subway system, according to a complaint filed by the multinational Siemens.

Below is a news report from Agência Brasil:

Eletropaulo will have to return more than R$ 600 million to energy consumers.

Sabrina Craide
Reporter from Agência Brasil

Brasilia - The National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) decided this Tuesday, the 17th, that Eletropaulo will have to return R$ 626 million to energy consumers served by the distributor.

According to the agency, between 2002 and 2011, the company considered the existence of 246 meters of cables in its asset base during its tariff calculations, but Aneel verified that only 10 meters of this input actually existed.

The repayment will take place over the next four years, so as not to harm the distributor's finances. The reimbursement of these amounts may also result in smaller future adjustments to the company's energy tariffs.

Eletropaulo, which still has the right to appeal, has not yet commented on Aneel's decision. The distributor serves approximately 6,5 million consumer units in 24 municipalities in the metropolitan region of São Paulo.