Gaucho energy distributors plan operations for the summer

Traditionally, the summer season, with rising temperatures and consequently an increase in energy consumption, brings challenges to be faced by concessionaires in this sector. Already anticipating actions that will be adopted next season, the two main distributors in Rio Grande do Sul, CEEE Equatorial and RGEpresented at the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) measures such as replacing poles, contingency options, increased investment and prevention in coastal cities.

THE electrical supply of beach municipalities in the hottest months of the year is one of the main concerns of CEEE Equatorial (a company that serves this region in the State), highlights the company president, Riberto Barbanera. According to him, structural works will be carried out in the locality. “Because we know that there is a large migration of people to that area which overloads the system”, comments the director.

The investments will be used, among other purposes, in substations and power lines. The executive who plans this initiative will absorb a contribution between R$30 million and R$35 million. In other cities, the focus, reinforces Barbanera, will be on maintenance so that the network is more resilient.

RGE, in a note, informs that the company’s contingency plan “includes climate monitoring, team preparation and communication with consumers and government agencies, aiming for the agile reestablishment of the system after extreme events”. The concessionaire also points out that reinforced its service logisticswith more teams and operational bases to ensure rapid responses to emergencies.

Still according to the distributor, between 2024 and 2028, RGE should invest around R$9.3 billion in its distribution network. These resources are being used to replace wooden poles with concrete structures, automate the network, build new substations and acquire satellite communication technologies.

RGE is responsible for distributing 65% of the electrical energy consumed in Rio Grande do Sul and serving more than 3 million customers in 381 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul. CEEE Equatorial is present in 72 cities in the Metropolitan, South, Center-South, Campaign, North Coast and South Coast regions. It currently has approximately 1.9 million customers.

Although the topic of summer time is not just restricted to energy saving, involving topics such as bar and restaurant activities, airlines and people’s daily lives, for CEEE Equatorial and RGE this is an issue that has to go through the National Electric System Operator (ONS). The body is responsible for coordinating and controlling the operation of electrical energy generation and transmission facilities in the National Interconnected System (SIN).

Asked whether or not to resume summer time, something that is being considered by the federal government, RGE responded in a statement that the matter has to be directed to the National System Operator. Already the president of CEEE Equatorial, Riberto Barbaneraemphasizes that it is necessary to technically analyze the effect of the measure today, with all the variables that are different to those of the past and, according to him, this is what ONS technicians are doing.

The director recalls that, in the case of the Gaucho distributor, in the past the electrical load peak was seen around 6pm to 8pm, which was when people arrived home, to take a shower and activated the electric shower. In addition, there was the switching on of public lighting, which caused a coincidence of demand, which justified summer time.

“But our cargo profile has changed a lot”, highlights the president of CEEE Equatorial. Barbanera details that, with higher temperatures and more people with access to air conditioning units, in the case of the dealership, the peak demand it no longer occurs at 6pm, it happens around 2pm to 3pm.

According to a note recently published by the ONS, from an economic point of view, the return of summer time in Brazil could bring a reduction of up to 2.9% in demand maximum and a saving in operating costs of close to R$400 million between the months of October and February. However, when daylight saving time was suspended in the country in 2019, the Ministry of Mines and Energy had informed that, as in recent years there have been changes in the population’s energy consumption habits, the measure “no longer produces the results for which this public policy was formulated”.

In an interview with IstoÉ magazine, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveirarevealed that the decision on the return of daylight saving time should be taken in the next few days and said that this policy would be useful to improve planning for 2025. Before its interruption, daylight saving time was implemented from zero o’clock in the morning. first Sunday of November of each year, until zero o’clock on the third Sunday of February of the following year, in part of the national territory, causing clocks to advance by one hour. The states that normally joined the initiative were Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and the Federal District.