Após o restabelecimento, o contador de eletricidade voltou a funcionar.

Após means after.

In European Portuguese, it is perfectly correct, but it sounds a bit more formal or written than depois de. So:

• Após o restabelecimento... = more formal, official, or written style
• Depois do restabelecimento... = more neutral and everyday

In news reports, technical writing, and formal descriptions, após is very common.

O restabelecimento means the restoration / re-establishment.

In this sentence, it most naturally refers to the restoration of the electricity supply, even though that is not stated explicitly. Portuguese often leaves that understood from the context.

A fuller version could be:

• Após o restabelecimento da eletricidade...
• Após o restabelecimento do fornecimento elétrico...
• Após o restabelecimento da energia...

So the sentence is using a noun phrase where English might sometimes prefer something like after the power was restored.

Portuguese uses definite articles much more often than English.

So:

• o restabelecimento = the restoration
• o contador de eletricidade = the electricity meter

Even when English might omit the in some contexts, Portuguese often keeps it. This is very normal and does not sound overly specific.

Yes. In Portugal, contador is the normal word for a utility meter, such as:

• contador de eletricidade = electricity meter
• contador da água = water meter
• contador do gás = gas meter

For an English speaker, this can be confusing because contador can look like counter. But in this context, it definitely means meter.

A useful note:

• In Brazilian Portuguese, medidor is also very common for meter
• In European Portuguese, contador is especially common for household utility meters

De eletricidade is a very common way in Portuguese to show what something is for or what it measures.

So:

• contador de eletricidade = meter for electricity / electricity meter

You may also hear or see expressions like:

• contador elétrico
• medidor de eletricidade

But contador de eletricidade is very natural and clear in European Portuguese.

The structure noun + de + noun is extremely common in Portuguese.

This is the structure voltar a + infinitive.

It means:

• to do something again
• to resume doing something
• to start working again, depending on context

So:

• voltou a funcionar = started working again / resumed working

Other examples:

• Voltei a estudar. = I started studying again.
• Ela voltou a falar. = She started speaking again.
• O sistema voltou a funcionar. = The system started working again.

This is a very useful and common structure.

Both are possible in some contexts, but they are not exactly the same.

• voltou a funcionar focuses on the return to a previous working state
• funcionou novamente means worked again, but it can sound a little less natural here

With machines, services, systems, and utilities, Portuguese very often uses voltar a + infinitive to say that something came back into operation.

So in this sentence, voltou a funcionar is the most natural choice.

Yes, absolutely.

These are both correct:

• Após o restabelecimento, o contador de eletricidade voltou a funcionar.
• Depois do restabelecimento, o contador de eletricidade voltou a funcionar.

The difference is mainly register:

• após = more formal, more written
• depois de = more everyday

Notice the contraction:

• depois de + o = depois do

Eletricidade is the current standard spelling under the modern spelling agreement.

However, you may still see electricidade in older texts, older signage, or from people who prefer pre-reform spelling.

So for modern standard Portuguese, especially in current teaching materials, use:

• eletricidade

But do not be surprised if you come across:

• electricidade

In pronunciation, the word still sounds very similar to what learners might expect from the older spelling.

Sometimes yes, but not in exactly the same way.

In everyday Portuguese, people often use luz to mean electricity / power, especially when talking about whether the power is on or off:

• A luz foi abaixo. = The power went out.
• Já voltou a luz? = Has the power come back yet?

But for a device like a meter, contador de eletricidade is more precise and more natural than contador da luz in careful or technical language.

So:

• luz = common everyday word for electrical power
• eletricidade = more precise, technical, or formal

It is natural, especially in written or semi-formal contexts.

It sounds like something you might read in:

• a report
• a technical note
• a utility-company message
• a news article

In casual speech, a Portuguese speaker might choose something simpler, for example:

• Depois de a eletricidade voltar, o contador voltou a funcionar.
• Quando a luz voltou, o contador voltou a funcionar.

So the original sentence is correct and natural, but it leans slightly toward formal written Portuguese rather than casual conversation.