Brazil arenas power cut over unpaid bills

Article posted by Coliseum, February 6^th, 2023

Image: Arena da Amazônia, Portal da Copa, CC BY 3.0 br

Power supply to the Arena da Amazônia in Manaus, Brazil, was cut off by the power distribution company Amazonas Energia on January 24^th due to non-payment of energy bills for over a year.

‘NEWS BULLETIN’ stated that as per a statement from the concessionaire, the arena’s power bill outstanding stands at R$ 39 million. The power cut also affected the Amadeu Teixeira Arena in Manaus, the indoor sporting arena which sits next to the Arena da Amazônia. Indoor football championship fixtures are held in the Amadeu Teixeira Arena.

The Arena da Amazônia is a football stadium in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, which sits on the site where the 36,000-capacity Vivaldão Stadium once stood. The stadium has an all-seater capacity of 44,300 and was constructed from 2010 to 2014 as part of Brazil’s hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™.

The Amadeu Teixeira Arena is an indoor sporting arena used mostly for futsal and volleyball and is located in Manaus, Brazil. The facility can hold 11,800 spectators and opened in 2006. The venue is also used for holding numerous other events like basketball, concerts, handball, and combat sports too.

The Amazonas Energia is an electric power distribution company based in Brazil’s Amazonas State, where it provides services to more than 860,000 clients in 62 municipalities in the City of Manaus.

The FAAR (Fundação Amazonas de Alto Rendimento – Government office in Manaus, Brazil), which manages the above arenas and is associated with the State Government, stated in a note that it has been trying to settle the outstanding power bills issue with Amazonas Energia since 2022.

‘NEWS BULLETIN’ further stated that the FAAR also stated that the unpaid power bills got accrued when the arenas were previously run by another operator – “FAAR will try to sort out the pending power bills issue at the earliest possible. We have partially made the payment and are open to talks with Amazonas Energia.”

Amazonas Energia stated that they had sent several warning notices to Arena da Amazônia operators before initiating the power cut step – “The Arena da Amazônia held events the whole of 2022 without clearing a single energy bill. This led to a huge accumulation of pending dues.”

The Arena da Amazônia was one of the stadiums built for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil at a cost of R$669 million, the tab of which was picked up by the Government of Amazonas with financing done by the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES).

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