Recurring Power Cuts Hit Rio as Generators Proliferate and Cable Overhaul Advances

Overview

• Residents and businesses in Tijuca, Rio Comprido, Cachambi and nearby areas report near-daily outages since mid-December, with some interruptions exceeding 10 hours.
• Impacts include burned appliances, spoiled goods and safety incidents such as an elderly person rescued from an elevator, with one Tijuca restaurateur estimating roughly R$90,000 in losses and over R$10,000 spent on generators.
• Light identified obsolete cables at the Cachambi substation and is replacing about two kilometers of lines, using on-site generators to support operations until the upgrade is completed in May.
• In Copacabana, the Leme and parts of Barra, Light attributes failures to cable theft and says around 50 street generators remain in use, with roughly 30 slated for removal by the weekend.
• For Tijuca’s Rua Mariz e Barros, Light cites an unauthorized load increase by a restaurant as the cause, says it began regularization measures and reports service there has been normalized.