Neoenergia carries out annually the Summer Plan, a
series of maintenance and improvement actions in networks aimed to prepare the
system to the summer season, a period when the increase in loads may be as high
as 66% in touristic areas. In total, inspections were carried out over 38,000
kilometers of networks, more than five times the distance between São Paulo and
New York. The operation, which benefits about 2.8 million customers, also
includes the modernization of the networks.
"We work to supply energy with quality to all
our customers and, for this purpose, we prepared the Summer Plan strategically,
ensuring a quality energy supply also in the coastal regions, which receive
more tourists during this period. We have reinforced our actions with
inspections, installation of more modern equipment, a differentiated logistics
of field teams and an increased number of specialists in the distributors'
operation centers and call centers"
explains Jader Carneiro, Neoenergia's Networks and Substations
Superintendent.
According to the executive, "the network
maintenance activities check the conditions of the structures and the
vegetation close to the network, ensuring that we do not have undue
disconnections in the system." In addition, the company's distributors use
thermal-vision camera technology to check the temperature of cables,
connections, and transformers in the energy network. Maintenance is carried out
on sub-transmission systems, inspecting more than 12,000 kilometers of lines
and around 800 pieces of substation equipment. To reinforce the network
automation to improve service quality, over 370 reclosers will be installed by
the end of the Summer Plan and over 100 self-healing schemes will be implemented, technology that
restores the energy supply automatically in case of failures. The area affected
by the problem is isolated and a higher number of consumers can have energy
restored within 60 seconds. The equipment is integrated to the Integrated
Operations Center (IOC), which receives the exact location of the failure,
speeding up the work of electricians if there is a need for repairs in the
field. By using the system, the time it takes to re-establish the energy supply
after incidents can be reduced.
Summer Plan also includes actions such as special
inspections in networks serving the states' sanitation companies. The washing
of insulators is also planned, with the purpose of minimizing the effects of
salinity at the seashore and thus restoring the safety of the structures.
It is worth mentioning that Neoenergia's
distributors create special strategies for the logistics of field teams on
important dates, such as holidays and the year-end festivities. At the call
centers, the five distributors have the capacity to expand resources during
times of increased demand.