16/12/2020

Neoenergia strengthens safety of Teles Pires Hydro Power Plant with the arrival of a new transformer

    hydroelectric


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Teles Pires Hydro Power Plant, a company majority owned by Neoenergia, located between the states of Mato Grosso and Pará, has just received a reinforcement with the arrival of a new transformer that will provide increased reliability and safety for its operation. The additional equipment will be used in case of need of maintenance or any contingency with the existing transformers. Thus, the transmission of the energy generated at Teles Pires, which supplies about 13.5 million people, will not be put at risk. Supplied by Weg, the transformer also stands out for its magnitude - with of 405 MVA and over 282 tons - it its considered one of the biggest produced by Weg in Brazil.  

Teles Pires has an installed power of 1,820 MW and comprises five 634-MW generating units with their respective transformers. The role of this equipment is to raise the voltage of the energy generated at the plant from 13.8kV to 525kV. This voltage increase is required to transmit large blocks of energy over long distances, thus connecting the hydro power plant to substations and transmission lines. Upon reaching the substation in the urban area, this voltage is reduced again to 13.8kV and transmitted to the transformers located in the poles, to then reach the homes and businesses.  

"With the extra transformer available at the Teles Pires HPP, it is possible to schelude maintenance without affecting the plant's generation. Previously, if a transformer failed or went through maintenance, the generating unit needed to be stopped. Now, with this sixth equipment we can replace the transformer in a planned manner or in the event of any fault, reestablish the energy quickly," says Ildebrando Martins, technical officer of Teles Pires HPP.  

The new transformer was produced by Weg in Blumenau (SC) and had to travel almost three thousand kilometers to reach Teles Pires, which is located in the municipalities of Jacareacanga (PA) and Paranaíta (MT). The assembly in Teles Pires will take place in December and the transformer will be available for operation in January 2021, if necessary.  

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