Prioritizing modernization in the concession areas, Neoenergia has adopted grid shielding projects that already serve more than 250 thousand customers in its four distributors - Coelba (BA), Celpe (PE), Cosern (RN) and Elektro (SP/MS), whose pilot started this year. The group's concessionaires promote the implementation of new grid standards and the replacement of equipment such as cables and meters.
Technologies that avoid commercial losses are used in shielding. This work prevented, from January to June 2020, deviations estimated at 71.2 GWh, enough energy to supply, for example, all the homes of a city with almost 620 thousand inhabitants, such as Feira de Santana, in Bahia, for two months. With the exchange of grid components, it is still possible to obtain quality improvements for the company's customers.
One of the main changes is the replacement of the meters, which are no longer installed on the façade or inside the buildings and become part of a Centralized Measuring System (SMC), being connected to the distributors´ poles. This equipment allows tele-measurement, that is, the consumption data of each customer are sent directly to the concessionaires. Consumers can follow this information in real time, through a display installed on buildings, which allows greater planning on energy expenditures and attitudes to save. This measurement model is regulated by the National Energy Agency (Aneel).
"We are constantly testing new equipment and technologies to improve and expand our grids´ shielding. With this, we seek to avoid commercial losses, mainly resulting from theft and fraud. This work has several advantages for the customers, who count on the reduction of risks of accidents with improper connections, besides the grid improvements and, therefore, with more quality and comfort", says Adalberto Leandro da Silva, measurement monitoring supervisor at Neoenergia.
Currently there are four grid shielding standards, which can count, for example, on an elevation of the height at which the equipment is installed. In addition, installed cables have insulation features that prevent external connections, avoiding deviations.
ENERGY THEFTS HARM THE WHOLE SOCIETY
The grid shielding is a form of prevention of energy thefts, which are considered crimes under the Penal Code and can cause security risks as well as damaging the energy supply. The commercial losses, mainly caused by these behaviors, also affect the value of the electricity bill of the whole population.
Neoenergia acts in a preventive manner, through the awareness of its customers and the use of technologies that prevent or identify theft. The population can report suspected thefts anonymously through the group's distribution channels, on 116 (Coelba, Celpe and Cosern) and 0800.701.0102 (Elektro).
