Neoenergia's new Transmission Operation Center (COT), located in Campinas (SP), is undergoing a complete renovation and modernization. Recently transferred from Rio de Janeiro to the interior of São Paulo, the space will have monitoring technologies with artificial intelligence algorithms, real-time team training simulators and an integrated operation and maintenance system. The result will allow for a quick understanding as well as an accurate view of the operational situation. The project will also increase the team's capacity and performance and, consequently, bring more reliability to the system.

The COT is expected to be inaugurated in March 2021, reaching 14 states, 49 substations and impacting 5,332 kilometers of transmission lines. The architectural phase is currently underway. By the end of 2020 the works will begin and the COT will have a space five times larger than the current facilities.

INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY

Among the novelties of the new COT is the use of systems with intelligent alarms using artificial intelligence algorithms that support real-time decision making. This will make it possible to identify more efficiently any type of interference that occurs in transmission lines, as well as the location, making it easier for the operator to act and for the maintenance team to be activated for the appropriate interventions. "The increased uncertainty and complexity of the operation demanded the need to integrate a large volume of information and the entire projected system comes in order to support these real time decisions, especially in degraded conditions, during and after major disturbances, we are investing and preparing for an increasingly resilient operation," says Bruno Isolani, Neoenergia's operation manager.

The performance of the teams will also be optimized by the adoption of the high-performance Human Machine Interface (HMI) concept. Based on models used in aviation, the innovation will use minimalist screens that facilitate the identification of a particular problem. "The result is that an operator will be able to make faster and more assertive decisions, because the model is developed in a way that draws attention to what needs to be resolved," explains Isolani.

The technologies in the COT also include an operation cockpit, where it will be possible to view all the actions in progress, those executed and those planned. In this way, preventive and maintenance interventions on the lines can be scheduled. Operators will have simulators for training, which will provide increased technical and psychological skills, gain of experience during severe situations, generating increased efficiency and improvement in the quality of service delivered to society.

The teams will rely on voice remote-controlled technology. It is a device integrated to the field employee's helmet, which will allow instantaneous voice communication, while sharing the maintainer's vision with the COT operators, who will follow the operational manoeuvres at a distance. The novelty, already in use in Neoenergia substations, allows operators to follow, in real time, the field operation and maintenance actions, bringing benefits that contribute to the safety of our employees.