Teresópolis Residents Endure Three Days Without Power After Cable Rupture

Residents of Rua Mário Cravo Júnior in the Cascata dos Amores neighborhood of Teresópolis, Rio de Janeiro, have been without electricity for over three days following the rupture of a power grid cable on Saturday, November 18th. The incident, reportedly accompanied by a loud explosion, has caused significant disruption and financial losses for the community. Despite Enel, the energy provider, being notified over the weekend, power had not been restored by Monday afternoon, November 20th. An initial repair attempt by an Enel team reportedly led to another incident, with the company later claiming cable theft, which residents dispute, stating Enel's own actions caused the damage during repairs. Residents also complain about frequent power outages in the area and slow response times from the utility company. The prolonged blackout has severely impacted daily life, particularly for an elderly 90-year-old resident who is suffering from the cold due to the inability to use a heater. This is not the first such incident, as the locality experienced a similar 48-hour outage in April. Residents attribute these recurring problems to a lack of preventative tree trimming and the deteriorating condition of the electrical infrastructure. One resident reported significant food spoilage due to the outage. Enel stated that a team was dispatched on Monday morning and aimed to restore power by the afternoon.