Underground low voltage smarter grid at CEB

This paper reports the implementation of an management system for underground substations in the Brazilian utility Companhia Energetica de Brasilia (CEB), in a partnership with the Electrotechnical and Energy Institute (IEE) of the University of São Paulo (USP), resulting in a pilot project of 12 substations being remotely monitored and controlled. The system allows for management of the load and redundancy of the Spot Network underground substations. The accumulation of historical data allows for systemic studies and pro-active maintenance activities. The communication with the equipment was done using ModBus and DNP3 protocols over a fiber optic network, functioning as a master/slave system, with no direct communication between relays. The Federal Electrical Energy Agency (ANEEL) recently released the rules for Distributed Generation (DG) modes and interconnections and for Smart Grid Deployment. Studies are being made to overcome the technical limitations of the grid and spot networks regarding DG connections.