- The project, located in Lorena (state of São Paulo), will double the energy supply in the Vale do Paraíba region within the same São Paulo state. It will bring benefits for the entire Brazilian National Interconnected System (SIN), such as greater availability, efficiency, and reliability.
- The expected investment is USD 42,8 million. (R$ 238 million capex, Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency – ANEEL).
- ISA CTEEP currently transmits about 33% of the electric power produced in Brazil and almost 94% of the energy consumed in the São Paulo state.
ISA Group, through its affiliate ISA CTEEP, strengthens its leadership in the Brazilian electricity market with the operation of the first substation that includes digital solutions developed by ISA Group, which will bring benefits such as doubling the reliability of energy supply and efficiency in service provision in Brazil. In addition, this initiative allows the Organization to contribute directly to the decarbonization of the region’s energy matrices through infrastructure that seeks to mitigate the climate emergency the planet is experiencing.
The Lorena substation is part of the Interconexión Eléctrica Itapura, located in the city of Lorena, in the interior of the São Paulo state, and will benefit the electric system in the Vale do Paraíba region of the same state, in addition to contributing to the entire Brazilian National Interconnected System (SIN). The investment planned by ANEEL is R$ 238 million (USD 42,8 million) and the annual allowable revenue of R$ 11,8 million (USD 2,1 million) in the 2021-2022 cycle.
The project has an installed capacity of 1.200 MVA. It has the capacity to supply electric power to two cities similar in size and demand to the city of Soledad, Atlántico, in Colombia (approximately 700.000 inhabitants). More than 200 professionals from the area were hired during the project, generating employment opportunities for the region’s inhabitants.
Moreover, the substation doubles the reliability of the electric power supply for the Vale do Paraíba region, which now has a redundant system in case of failure of the first one, ensuring continuity of service and contributing to the entire Brazilian National Interconnected System (SIN).
“The Lorena substation represents a milestone in ISA CTEEP’s digital transformation towards Substation 4.0, which is crucial for increasingly decarbonized, distributed, and digitized energy systems. We will contribute to strengthening and making even more reliable the electricity system that supplies the largest technological center in the São Paulo state. Also, we are beginning a path that seeks to contribute to the decarbonization of the energy matrix in Brazil and the entire region,” Dayron Urrego, ISA CTEEP’s Executive Project Director, said.
Digitization benefits in this project include:
System soundness: the digital substation extends the scope of information and parameter collection as well as data processing. This happens through technologies such as fiber optics and big data, which contribute to a more reliable operation throughout the entire lifecycle of the substation.
The collection and processing of more flexible information, 50% faster than a conventional substation, promotes more accurate and reliable decision making, increasing the efficiency of service delivery.
Maintenance is also supported by digital technology, since each of the substation equipment is monitored remotely. This means that, in case of failure, the company knows exactly where to act, anticipating and avoiding the interruption of the power supply.
Sustainability: the digital substation is designed with fiber optic cables, while the conventional substation is made of copper. This allows a 50% reduction in the use of cables and structures. Consequently, the generation of waste for the environment is also reduced since the fiber optic communication architecture is capable of performing several functions, while copper only performs one.
Additionally, the control room, where all the substation’s control and protection equipment and devices are concentrated, is compact and 30% smaller than the control room of a conventional substation. This fact also reduces the impact on the environment due to the reduced need for civil construction.
Greater safety for work teams: copper cables were replaced by fiber optics, which is safer in the project maintenance process, since technicians do not need to intervene directly and constantly on the circuits, as this work is done directly from the control panel.
“Digital transformation is a key focus of our ISA2030 strategy. We want to impact business processes to make them simpler, more flexible, and more efficient, to achieve greater competitiveness, to move away from obsolescence and, most importantly, to fulfill our purpose of transcending our mission as an organization to generate Sustainable Value. For this reason, we are proud of this new step we are taking as a Group towards digitization and the decarbonization of the energy matrix,” Bernardo Vargas Gibsone, ISA Group’s CEO, said.
Subestación 4.0.
In addition to advancing in the digitization of substations, ISA CTEEP is working on the concept of Substation 4.0. The project, classified as Research and Development of the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL), started this year. It foresees the development of requirements and performance studies of a protection, control, automation, and monitoring system for the development of a substation concept of the future with the implementation of a pilot as a test platform in Jaguariúna (São Paulo state).
This project foresees an investment of more than R$ 10 million (USD 1,8 million). The start of the panels assembly and the architecture development is expected to occur in the second half of 2021.
This initiative is being developed in alliance with the Laboratorio de Protección y Automatización (Protection and Automation Laboratory) of the Escuela Politécnica de la Universidad de São Paulo, the LSI Tec science and technology institution, and the companies ABB Electrificação and Hitachi ABB.
ISA CTEEP ISA CTEEP is the largest private electricity transmission company operating in 17 Brazilian states. Through ISA CTEEP, the ISA Group is in charge in Brazil of transmitting around 33% of the electric power produced by the National Interconnected System (SIN), 60% of the energy consumed in the southeast Region, and almost 94% of the energy consumed in the São Paulo state. Its energy system comprises over 20 thousand kilometers of transmission lines and 140 substations (assets in operation and under construction).
