SMART GRID: EVALUATION AND TREND IN BRAZIL
Ricardo Moreira da Silva
Universidade Federal da Paraíba, UFPB
E-mail: ricardomoreira0203@hotmail.com
Stevon Schettino
Energisa Distribuidora de Energia S/A, Brazil
E-mail: stevon@energisa.com.br
Patrícia Meira Ribeiro de Lima
Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Brazil
E-mail: patricia.meira@energisa.com.br
Francisco Célio Adriano
Energisa Distribuidora de Energia S/A, Brazil
E-mail: francisco.celio@energisa.com.br
Submission: 22/08/2013
Revision: 06/09/2013
Accept: 28/02/2014
ABSTRACT
The Smart Grid is considered the most promising conglomerate of
technology to be applied for the improvement and optimization of all power
production in electrical engineer. Smart Grid's concept is being more and more
recognized for its importance for representing a way to meliorate the energetic
efficiency of the electric system, reducing consumption, allowing intensive use
of energy generation renewable sources. Therefore, the goal of this article is
to explore and present Smart Grid's concepts and its global evolution, so as
perform an assessment on Smart Grid's tendencies in Brazil. In order to do
this, we shown the concepts of Smart Grid, its benefits and impacts in the
electric system's value chain, the barriers to its diffusion in Brazil and the
paths of investments incentives for deployment of the new technology.
Accordingly, we reach the conclusion that the researches point to a long and
challenging trajectory for the development and implantation of Smart Grid's
technology in Brazil, which is still in an embryonic phase of pilot projects
for the knowledge and technology development implantation.
Keywords: Smart Grid, Energetic Efficiency,
Smart Meters.
1.
INTRODUCTION
The constant grow of the electric energy consumption
in the world has represented a challenge for the energetic sector that needs to
supply means to the electric system's expansion, responsible for the
generation, transmission and distribution of this energy, in advance to this
consumption. However, the construction of electric power generation big
ventures is increasingly to restrictions as geographical, technological,
economic, regulatory or environmental.
Historically, in Brazil, the investments in big
ventures of infrastructure happen in a reactive way, instead of being proactive
to the demand's rise. For example, in 2001, after a strong economy expansion
and energy consumption period, associated to the underinvestment on the energy
generation and transmission system, culminated in the availability of electric
supplies shortages, due the excessive water consumption in generation and
consequent strangulation of the energy transmission system, resulting in a
critical period for the country with energy rationing needs. The electric
energy rationing lasted until the beginning of the following year, when the
actions to make it energetic efficient and of reinforcement/expansion of the
electrical energy generation and transmission generation system. Currently,
this risk is no longer in evidence, yet it strongly tagged the history of the
Brazilian electric sector.
Based on this scenario, it can be also highlighted the
forecast of a global temperature raise, from 4 to 7°C (39,2 to 44,6ºF) till the
century's end, as a function of global warming, what is going to represent
great challenges to agriculture, water sources maintenance, public health
services as well as energy generation. In the analysis of Battaglini et al.
(2009), energy is a critical drive to world’s economy growth, however all
emerging countries needs a correct energetic plan to obtain a sustainable
development. Thereby, strategic decisions of energetic system investments in
coming years will determine the future technology generation of electric/energetic
sector to the subsequent decades.
The energy savings is a far more efficient way to
simultaneously increase security in energy supply and reduce pollutant gaseous
emission. According to Garrido (2008) is estimated that, globally, at least 20%
of the distributed energy is wasted due the high inefficiency, corresponding to
thousands of tons of CO2 emitted, annually, unnecessarily. This energy economy
may occur in two ways: consumption reduction and/or through energetic efficiency
actions.
Thus, the mentioned authors highlight that the
development of one consistent electric energy system, which attends to the
economic and environmental objectives, will be much tougher, if not impossible,
without any kind of smarter technology to support. Accordingly, arises the
Smart Grid, which is a complex system that will require fundamental changes in
the business models, public politics, social attitudes as well as engineering.
The future output, according to the quoted authors
analysis, is the combination of great potential renewable generation (that are
situated far from the big consume centers, for example, wind farms) with the
distributed generation (e.g. gas turbines, micro turbines, fuel cells,
photovoltaic generation, small wind turbines, biogas, etc.), connected to the
electric system through electric smart network "Smart Grid".
According to Al-Ali et al. (2011), one of the keys to Smart Grid's success it
the integration of renewable sources of energy storage by the load side.
The grids of the future will be different from
traditional grids. Zahedi (2011) highlights that the future grids will be a
combination of centralized and distributed energy, with more flexibility, what
allows the multidirectional flow of energy? In this energy system, the consumers
will also be able to produce energy. The grid will be open to all kinds and
different sizes of alternative generation sources to be connected. The
information technology will make the management of the grid easier and will
allow the communication between the system operation, generation and the
consumer, and this communication will be based on real time data. Future
challenges in this new grid include the integration of renewable sources,
demand response, more efficient and reliable power system, reducing peak loads.
Smart Grid (SG) is being responsible for the
implementation of a technological revolution in the whole value chain of
electric system, which presented a slight evolution in the last century. This
modernization will encompass from the power generation, through the
transmission sector, distribution and final consumer. The SG will be
responsible for optimize and make the existing electric system more efficient,
providing gains in quality, security, energy efficiency, reducing the
pollutants emission, asset management, among others.
It is worth noting that is possible to reduce
electricity costs by performing load control through the use of equipment’s and
systems of energy storage along to consumer units. By applying the Smart Grid's
concept, it can be expected high efficiency, energy conservation and low
emission of carbon (TAKANA, et al., 2012).
Accordingly to Li and Zhou (2011), the Smart Grid is
considered the most promising conglomerate of technology, which is gaining
generalized popularity in electricity public services, research institutes and
telecommunication companies. Broadly the smart grid is referred as the modern
grid technology, covering all electric industries of energy, from energy
production, transmission and consumption, and implements a convergence between
the flow of electric energy, the flow of information and the business flow with
basis in information technology, communication technology and informatics.
Actually, Smart Grid aims to provide a new model to the electric energy sector
that allows adding new technologies or changing what already exists in a simple
way. The concept of Smart Grid is being more and more recognized as a way to
improve the energetic efficiency and, of generation and consuming electric
energy.
The grid transformation of current electric system to
the Smart Grid should happen in an incremental way: new automation technology,
computing and communication will be introduced to the sectors of the current
grid, forming pockets of sub grids with Smart Grid's characteristics, which
will coexist in a smooth manner with the legacy grid. Insofar as these pockets
increase in number and capacity, the grid as a whole will tent towards a grid
within the new view (FALCÃO, 2010).
Thereby, the process may be catalyzed via direct
action of the national and governmental electric sector regulating agent that
may promote the suitability of the regulatory framework of this sector, aiming
to coordinated smart grids in Brazil, as define sources of subsidy to finance
this process without burdening the consumer or overload the electric energy
distribution concessionaires.
Due the relevance of the Smart Grid theme for
implementation of improvements and innovations that are revolutionizing the
production chain and electric energy supply all over the world, in terms of
processes optimization, energetic efficiency, environmental sustainability
increase, this study has as a goal to explore and present the concepts of Smart
Grid and its global evolution, as so to perform an evaluation of the trend of
Smart Grid's diffusion in Brazil, showing the main benefits and challenges that
the country might face.
The methodological path that was traced brought (i)
this brief introduction about the theme that emphasized the relevance of the
matter in evidence, the next topic (ii) will present a more embracing
conceptualization about Smart Grid and its consequents impacts in the value
chain of the electric system, where the main segments of the electric sector
will be assessed. Then (iii) its discussed the regulation of the electric
sector regarding Smart Grid use and the incentives to the investment for the
implementation of the new technology. In the sequel of work, are presented,
respectively, (iv) the main benefits from Smart Grid use, and finally (v) the
main barriers to the diffusion of this technology in Brazil.
It is also noteworthy that the final considerations
and recommendations to the new researches point to a long and challenging
trajectory to the development and implementation of Smart Grid's technology in
Brazil, as will be shown, is in a embryonic stage, where pilot projects are
being implemented in some cities for tests and knowledge of the involved
technology, signalizing the needs of developments of much researches for the
customization and viability of the Smart Grid to the Brazilian reality,
stressing serious problems of technological, economic, financial and regulatory
orders, beyond the challenge of implementing this solution in a grid with
continental dimensions.
2.
THE UNDERSTANDING OF SMART GRID AND ITS
IMPACTS ON THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM VALUE CHAIN
The Smart Grid itself carries a very recent concept
and an enterprise, even in developed countries. Hou et al. (2011) reports that
the first town that Smart Grid was implemented in United States of America, was
Boulder, in Colorado, in 2008.
Smart Grid is constantly mentioned as the solution to electricity
industries, however its understanding is not as clear as its terminology,
applications and benefits. While some understand that Smart Grid comprises the
installation of smart meters in the residential and commercial consuming units,
others believe that it's the integration of distributed generation sources to
the electric system, as highlighted by Wissner (2011).
Another very important aspect of the electric system
optimization is the empowerment, what means to give power to the final user of
the electric energy service (consumer), highlights Falcão (2010) and Gomes et
al. (2010). Particularly in telemetry of consumption measurement, this power is
directly related to management, decision making and control of its energy
consumption control. Nowadays in Brazil, only corporative clients or
large-sized institutions, enjoy this benefit.
The smart electric system, through resources tracking
and control, will deeply modify the rules of the game in the electric system
value chain. Giordano and Fulli (2012) highlight the possibility of measurement
with details the consumption of electric energy (till the last device), because
it will create a link between each consumer unit and the service provider.
Schettino (2013) emphasizes the composition of the
value chain of the power sector basically generators around the country, can be
of various kinds of sources (hydroelectric, wind, thermal, solar, etc.), By
transmission lines and power distribution and consumers. Figure 1 presents an
illustration of the composition of the electrical system.
Figure 1 -
Composite Power System
Source: Schettino (2013 p.38)
For this Smart Grid concept to work in a satisfactory
way, meeting the criteria of safety, quality, reliability, as well as the
environmental assumptions, regulatory and economic, it becomes necessary the
adoption of politics of electric network optimization and automation, supported
by the technological advances of the digitalization, of information technology
and telecommunications, where the Smart Grid will be responsible for
integrating and operating all this technologies.
With this, stands that the Smart Grid is a set of
intelligent technologies (software and hardware tools) capable of making the
electric system more efficient, reducing the needs of overcapacity, through
modifications in the process of electric energy distribution, turning it to a two-way
street for the generated/consumed energy (BATTAGLINI, et al., 2009).
2.1 The information technology and necessary communication
to implement SG
In the next few decades, the Smart Grid will form a
critical basis to the new generation's electric system. Applying information
technology and telecommunication, as well as computing technologies in the
conventional grid, which will transform into a Smart Grid, will greatly enhance
the utilization rates of energy assets and the management of the
generation/consumption, optimize the resource allocation, and further improve
the capacity and quality of the service (LI; ZHOU, 2011).
For enabling the conception of smart grids, Nair and
Zhang (2009) state that is fundamental that the integrating equipment’s of the
electric system communicate and understand each other (speak a same language).
The universal communication protocols that should be defined need to attend a
few fundamental characteristics, such as: selectivity, sensibility, and
velocity and rehabilitation capability.
The structure for the implementation of new technology
has significantly changed in the last few years for several reasons. According
to Wissner (2011), the basis for the electric system transformation is
evaluated by the evolution of the information technology and telecommunication.
The high penetration of the information technology and
telecommunication is a result of the development of the wireless communication
network (GPRs, WiMAX, UMTS, satellites). This evolution contributed to the
process of telemetry of several activities.
In the Depuru et al. (2011) analysis, there are many
ways of implementing the communication between these devices with reliability,
however, of all proposed and available possibilities of communication
technology, GPRS and PLC technologies are currently the most used because of
the ease in maintenance and economic factors.
To Blumsack and Fernandez (2012), the Smart Grid
consists in the application of modern communication infrastructure for various
segments of the grid. Few technological advances in hardware are needed to make
the Smart Grid functional and useful, but the control systems, software, and
politics needed to perform fully the vision of Smart Grid are still in
development and need great evolutions, figure 2 shows this new smart grid that
has a bidirectional flow of information and energy between those involved.
Figure 2 - Composition of
Smart Grid (grid
+ conventional telecommunication
network)
Source: Schettino (2013 p.46)
Despite of the great advances of information
technology and telecommunication, that are allowing the development of Smart
Grid, it is still lacking the development of patterns and protocols of
communication and even the evolution and global diffusion of the most modern
technology in this sector, that are extremely important to the effective
working of the Smart Grid, and in Brazil that is enhanced by the strangulation
of the mobile communication systems.
2.2 Smart Grid in the generation systems
According to Wissner (2011), the main option that
Smart Grid offers to the sector of generation is a better integration between
the renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind energy. The expectation is
that this system allows the integration of systems of generation connected to
the distribution grid, in low and medium tension (distributed generation). This
will contribute to several countries to reach their goals of raising the
quantity of energy generated through renewable sources. In Figure 3 examples of
sources of power generation most commonly used are shown.
Figure 3 - Examples of sources of electricity generation
Source: Schettino (2013 p.48)
Some benefits of the distributed generation are
described by Nair and Zhang (2009):
·
Elevation of the supply/load of the electric grid;
·
Security of the energetic supply raises, avoiding
overcharge in peak times of the system and consequent restrictions of
treatment;
·
Reduction of energy loss and postponement of
investments in capacity enlargement and consequent reduction in carbon
emission.
Still according to the mentioned authors, are related
some challenges to the distributed generation and Smart Grid implementation:
·
Existing technology outdated;
·
Difficulty of adjustment and coordination of electric
protection;
·
Difficulty to the maintenance of the product quality,
with several sources of alternative generation (level of tension, harmonics and
frequency);
·
High
costs associated.
In the Blumsack and Fernandez (2012) analysis, the
energetic politics in the United States and other developed nations encouraged
the growth in renewable electricity generation. The intermittency of the wind
and solar energy generation system puts up challenges to the operators of the
electric system that should guarantee that the demand and offer are balanced at
all moments. The great challenge for renewable energy generation sources
connection is about the seasonality of this generation, not being available to
inject energy in the system at any moment.
Regarding the intermittency of the renewable sources
generation, Ota et al. (2012) highlight that an existing solution to minimize
the needs of complementation of the energy through the use of thermal
generation (fossil fuels burning) would be the storage of the surplus of energy
generated by the renewable sources in batteries banks. A solution that may be
used is the harnessing of the electrical vehicles batteries for the storage of
this surplus of energy, that would be injected in the system in the greater
load times (peak hours), but in this case it should be planned the disposal of
such batteries when finished their useful life.
With the implementation and use of the SG, generators
would obtain a clearer image of the demand and a more precise data about the
distribution grid, causing ways of improving the production resources due the better
demand management, as highlighted by Clastres (2011).
This way, the main gain allowed by the Smart Grid in
the generation system is regard exploring the maximum of the utilization of the
potential of the installed renewable sources generation (and operating) and of
the distributed generating, because this sources normally don't allow dispatch
(generation) in the most appropriate moment to the consume. Sources of
generation as solar and wind power, for example, need to generate and inject in
the system the energy generated in the time that the sun and wind are
available, respectively.
2.3 Smart Grid in transmission systems
The transmission system is the unifier of the electric
energy system, because it's through the transmission system that the main sources
of energy are connected to the final users, passing through the distribution
system. Failures in the transmission system may trigger systemic disturbances
that, in some case result in shutdowns of parts or the whole electric system,
causing blackouts.
One of the Smart Grid functions would be to improve
the accompaniment and operation of the high tension transmission system, where
big blocks of energy are transmitted. There are some economic advantages to
this system, even if introduces some energetic deficiencies (resistive losses
along the transmission lines), yet it should be respected the capacity limits
of the electric energy transmission of this lines.
The technologies of Smart Grid may allow the system
operators to control the energy more precisely, through the implementation of
Flexible Alternating Current Transmission Systems (FACTS). These devices
(FACTS) may allow the optimization of the transmission in almost real time or
in response to the system conditions, as highlighted by Blumsack and Fernandez
(2012). Thereby, it's possible to explore the maximum of the operational
capacity of the energy transmission system, raising the efficiency, security
and reliability of the system and, at the same time, allows the postponement of
investments in this system expansion.
2.4 Smart Grid in the distribution systems
Historically, the planning and operation of the
electric energy system are being performed in a segmented way: the centralized
generation and transmission, in general, receive an integrated treatment, while
the several subsystems of distribution are studied independently. The vital
interest to the operators of the distribution grid, it to know the current
charge of the system and provide stability to the system. Several programs of
incentive for the price and incentives based on demand are developed and
designed to model and equalize the demand, being needed the application of
information technology and telecommunication and smart meters, for it to start
working (WISSNER, 2011).
The distribution systems are those that are being more
benefited by the Smart Grid technology. Falcão (2012) highlights that the
electronic meters add a series of new functionalities to the old meter
electromechanical of consumption (kWh), constituting a smart meter, which opens
the possibility of important innovations, such as:
·
AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure): will allow the
automatic reading of the demand and the consumption of individual consumers,
connections and disconnections of consumers;
·
Automatic detection and isolation of issues,
reconfiguration and restoration of the service (energy providing);
·
Coordinated control of the tension and flux of
reactive.
Falcão (2010) highlights that this approach shall
suffer a conceptual chance with Smart Grid's entrance. The bidirectional
communication of information and flux of energy between the system and consumer
(and also the reverse order, in case of cogeneration), creates a need of an
integrated approach of all segments, by more active character each time for the
system of distribution and final users. This change of paradigm will affect
substantially the methodologies of expansion planning, planning of operation
and monitoring the control in real time.
Therefore, fits the electric energy distribution
concessionaires to adequate their intern processes to derive all possible gain
potential with Smart Grid's utilization, which will lead to the reduction of
operational costs that will be reverted in tariff reduction, with direct
earnings to the consumers and to the society.
2.5 Needs and consequences of Smart Grid distribution
To Krishnamurti et al. (2012), the first step in Smart
Grid's direction is the installation of a smart meter in the residences,
allowing the remote reading of the meter, daily or even continuous. Based in these
readings, the distributors would be able to implement answering programs to the
demand, offering electric energy with differentiated prices in function of the
consumption timetable. Actually, demand answering programs seek reducing the
consumption of electricity during the peak hour of use, relieving the
overcharge of the system.
Such meters constitute a natural link and fundamental
condition to implement Smart Grid between the consumer and the provider
(WISSNER, 2011). The data of the measurement are the basis to the billing of
the consumption and in most cases, the moment of the measurement is the only
moment of contact between the provider and the consumer. The new meters with
digital technology allow communication between the equipment and the operation
central of the provider (distributor). The ways of communication used allow the
communication in two ways (bidirectional), being: the first from the consumer
to the provider, where all data of consumption and other data referring to the
quality of the energy are sent; the second from the provider to the consumer,
that is the traditional way, which allows some intervention actions over the
consumer, as shutdowns and turning on again.
The Smart Meters are fundamental elements to quantify
in real time the consumption and generation, the quality of the measured
energy, and the instant updates of the prices of electricity. However, the
smart meters should not be considered only as a additional component in the
existing systems of electric energy, otherwise, its disruptive impact cannot be
captured and its business is negatively tendentious, in function of the high
initial costs of acquisition. It is possible to see in Figure 4 are examples of
conventional meters (electromechanical) and smart meter (SM) and devices for
interfacing with the consumer.
Figure 4 -
Examples of Smart
Meters
Source:
Schettino (2013
p.53)
Thus, the smart meter highlights itself as an element
of extreme relevance to the composition of Smart Grid, because is the element
of connection that will allow the management practically in real time (on line)
of the consumption and production (generation) of electric energy, but
previously this management of the production of electric energy was done with
basis in estimations of expectations of the consumption.
One consequence of Smart Grid's use with its Smart
Meters will be the construction of intelligent houses, because the last link of
connection between the consumer and the distributer will be the own electronic equipment’s
installed in their residence. With the invention of modern technologies it is
possible the automation of the equipment’s in a residence without the needs of
manual intervention for its actuation (WISSNER, 2011).
The prerequisite to the development of intelligent
residences is the existence of the interface of communication between the
electronic equipment’s. This interface of communication should allow the
transference of data and the remote operation through a central of control
installed in the residence. This control center will be responsible for the
management of the utilization and consumption of the equipment’s of the
residence, as the use of alternative sources of energy (own renewable
generation - solar and wind).
A energy management system of an intelligent house is
a system capable of allowing the commands of the equipment’s of the house and
provide the optimization of the energy consumption, with this, reducing the
consumption of energy (and consequent value of the energy bill), in function of
the management of the charges and the supply of energy in the peak hours,
accordingly to Al-Ali et al. (2001).
The smart meters associated to the
system of management may be programmed to keep a schedule of the domestic
devices operation and control the operation of other devices, such as to control
the lights, air conditioner and other devices. Depuru et al. (2011) describe
that beyond that, the integration of Smart Meters helps the energy distribution
companies in detecting the non-authorized consumption and energy stealing, in
view of the improvement in the monitoring of the demands and of the indexes of
the energy quality.
The management of the demand by the consumer, through
the management of energy consumption of an intelligent house in the peak hours,
using renewable energy sources (own generation) and energy of the
concessionaire network, allow real gains in reduction of the energy bill. This
economy is possible due the switching between the energy supplying of renewable
sources and the concessionaire grid, in order to consume the energy of the
concessionaire in hours of cheaper tariff (out of peak hours), while in the
hours of more expensive tariff (peak) it utilized the energy generated in the
renewable source or stored in the battery, agree Al-Ali et al. (2011) and
Wissner (2011).
3.
REGULATION OF THE ELECTRICITY SECTOR AND
INVESTMENT INCENTIVES - AN OVERVIEW
Lots of European countries (France, Ireland, Holland,
Spain and United Kingdom) defined goals to the development of Smart Grid, for
example, the smart meters already represent 85% of all devices in Italy, 25% in
France and many governments are predicting the implementation in all the
country until 2020, as describes Clastres (2011).
An important challenge for the regulatory agencies is
to standardize the implementation of distributed generation through renewable
sources. An example reported by Wissner (2011) is the Law of Renewable Energy,
implemented in Germany in 2000, that forces the operators of the electric
systems to connect plants of generation of renewable energy to the electric
system. This new challenge established to the operators of the electric system,
in function of the environmental protection politics that require
considerations about energetic efficiency that are referenced in the national
agenda of the "Integrated program of energy and Climate" of Germany.
The appearance of the demand sensible tariff, possible
since the implementation of Smart Grid, has important implications to the
development of the scenario of the energy in the future, particularly related
with the social-environmental parameters and goals of reliability/quality. The
displacement of the consumption of energy to periods out of the peak of the
system brings positive implications to the electric sector and reduce the
emission of gases that causes the greenhouse effect (BLUMSACK; FERNANDEZ, 2012)
The gains with the Smart Grid will be obtained in all
value chain of electricity, whether in the economic, social or environmental
areas, but the technology is still in development and implementation.
Regulation will be needed to leverage the investments, in a way that the prices
of the tariff should offer a sufficient incentive to support the necessary
investment. In several countries that the Smart Grid was implemented, there was
the incentive or repayable counterpart funding, from the government, of high
level of needed investment for the substitution of the conventional meters to
Smart Meters, essential to the viability of Smart Grid.
The implementation of Smart Grid's systems should be
done with the clear conscience of the benefits and costs associated. It should
be discussed not only the implication of the Smart Grid to the development and
the analysis of future scenarios of the energy sector, but also evaluated the
main social, economic and environmental benefits that Smart Grid may bring.
Johnson (2010) highlights five key factors to the
success in the implementation of Smart Grid in the North American energy
distribution concessionaire, the Southern California Edson, as being: i)
integration of distributed renewable energetic resources and system of storage;
ii) control of the grid and optimization of assets; iii) the effectiveness of
the workforce; iv) smart metering, and; v) solutions of intelligent energy in
the clients.
The Smart Grid system provides several benefits, such
as efficient control of the energy of the system, support and intervention
together with the operational decisions to minimize the interruptions and
energy losses. It also may perform energy cost allocation, failures analysis,
control of the demand and analysis of the energy quality; it may indicate the
needs of preventive maintenance and improve the functioning of the meters to an
exact billing of the consumed energy. Furthermore, the Smart Meters may detect
the presence of irregular clients and illegal in the grid, highlights Depuru et
al. (2011), the big problem in Brazil, representing 17% of the losses in the
electric system.
Accordingly to Clastres (2011), in some case, the main
benefit to the consumer is the reduction of the costs obtained by the reduction
of the demand or through the transfer of the consume to a period out of peak
(of cheaper tariff). The benefit to the distributer is represented by the
economy/postponement in the production costs and substantial balancing of charges
during the periods of high demand (liberation of the capacity), reduction of
losses and reduction of operational costs.
Blumsack and Fernadez (2012) report a great North
American blackout that occurred in august of 2003 that turned the public
attention to the state of the electric network in the United States and Canada.
The infrastructure of transmission of energy in the USA had fallen constantly
since the decade of 1970. The severity/scope of the blackout convinced even the
skeptics that the transmission system was no longer able to attend the demanded
services. In first place, the blackout of august 2003 highlighted the fact
that, despite the big advances in the sector of coordination and planning, the
reliability of the electric system did not improve. Since the 80's, the
frequency of great blackouts hasn't decreased, and the greatest blackouts still
seem to occur with some regularity in every ten years.
The Smart Grid may even solve specific problems of
each country. To Denmark and Sweden, for example, the Smart Grid will
contribute to the generalized use of electric vehicles (plug-in). Spain wants
to improve the quality of the offer with fewer incidents. Portugal intends to
reinforce the integration of renewable energies in its electric system. Italy
expects to reduce the frauds and energy thefts. Holland is expecting to save
energy and reduce the emission of greenhouse effect gases (CLASTRES, 2011).
Nair and Zhang (2009) highlight that in their studies
that New Zealand has the aspiration to reach the index of 90% of its energetic
matrix deriving of renewable sources, until 2025. In order to contain Global
Warming, the Europe stipulated the goal of having, in 2050, 100% of its energy
arising of renewable sources. For this the approach of Smart Grid will combine
two alternatives: centralized generation and distributed generation. With those
alternatives, that are actually complementary, it will be possible to hit this
goal. The Smart Grid contributes simultaneously to the safety of the energetic
matrix, climate safety, social safety and national safety; highlight Battaglini
et al. (2009).
Finally, France is developing this technology to make
it possible to the consumers the control of energy demand, improve the quality
of supply and improve the operation of the electric system. To limit the costs
of the distributors, each country/concessionary has its own vision of what
segment of market would win more of the Smart Grid.
In Brazil, alert to the global tendency of Smart
Grid's implementation, ANEEL, the Brazilian Energy Regulatory Agency, developed
a strategic project of research and development (P&D), which involved
several entities such as, various energy distribution concessionaries, that
were sponsors of the project, telecommunication companies, manufactures of
electronic meters, companies of information technology, energy generators
companies, the National Institute of Metrology (INMETRO), agents connected to
renewable/alternative energy generation sources, among other agents interested
in the theme, to develop researches about Smart Grid.
Terminated the strategic project of research and
development of Smart Grid, with contribution of the researched technological
content, several energy distributing companies started the pilot project of
Smart Grid installation in some cities. It is highlighted that it doesn't exist
in Brazil any pilot unit in complete functioning and that all are being
developed with a different level of scope and applicability. The pilot units in
development, currently, in the country are the municipalities of Paratins, in
Amazonas, that is a fluvial island situated in Amazonas river, the island of
Fernando de Noronha, in Pernambuco, the city of Aparecida, in São Paulo, the
town of Sete Lagoas, in Minas Gerais and finally, in starting phases, it is
being developed the pilot project in Buzios, in Rio de Janeiro coast.
The several future benefits of Smart Grid's
implementation and use, such as the energetic efficiency, reduction of
operation costs of the system, possibility of reduction of the costs of the
consumer with the electric energy consumed, improvement of the environmental
sustainability, among others, will be consequently obtained in Brazil as Smart
Grid is being implemented in the country, however other relevant and specific benefits
may also be earned.
As occur in the Interconnected Brazilian National
System (SIN), Battaglini et al. (2009) highlight that all over the world, the
quick expansion of the wind energy generation registered in the last years
raised a lot the loading of the existing system. However, the technical
restrictions of the existing system limit the exploration and connection of the
new wind farms and other renewable sources.
Thus, the Brazilian electric system is not adequate to
nicely support the future needs of electric energy, as well as it don’t attend
to the electric security and reliability criteria. According to Blumsack and
Fernandez (2012), the existing network has well served the industry of electric
energy for over a century, but is no longer configured to attend the
multifaceted demands of the society.
This way, in a near future, the total demand of energy
should become the double of the current demand. Looking at this situation, many
emerging countries do not have resources to the addition of the additional
capacity. To fill this gap, the Smart Grid arises to help in the control of
electric energy thefts, regularization of clients and optimization of the
existing capacity through the better use of the existing assets.
4.
MAIN BARRIERS TO SMART GRID’S TECHNOLOGY
DIFFUSION IN BRAZIL
The Smart Grid clearly has benefits in terms of
macroeconomic potential, associated to the use of renewable energy, as
highlighted previously, however, in function of the high level of investments
required and the time needed to develop, such investments present some risks
associated mainly to the political uncertainties, that need to be better
evaluated, as highlighted by Battaglini et al. (2009):
·
Magnitude of the investment – the Smart Grid needs a
high level of capital application and has associated important gains of scale;
·
Indefiniteness and uncertainties as to the sources of
sponsoring of the needed investments;
·
Technological uncertainties – high tension energy and
continuous flow transmission, energy storage technology, electrical vehicles,
smart electronic measurement, telecommunication systems, etc.;
·
Political uncertainties – changes in the political
scenario influence in the regulation of the electric sector and in the
governmental guidelines to the technological development of the country.
Accordingly to Blumsack and Fernandez (2012),
researchers and politic formulators need better models to evaluate the Smart
Grid’s system performance and to detail measure the progress of the
implementation goals. A attention point that Smart Grid will effectively raise
is the complexity of the already complex system in which, great scale failure,
are susceptible and inevitable. Smart Grid may introduce new types of failures
that did not start appearing or studied yet.
In developing countries, Brazil as an example, the
architecture of Smart Grid based on the use of smart meters faces with the
problem of the cost and availability of communication services to such big
volumes of links and high level of complexity of management of the constituted
network, highlight Gomes et al. (2010). It is also important to highlight that
the big mass of data to be collected, by the center of the operation demand
protocols and networks of unavailable communication in a large part of the
county.
Another relevant point is that the implementation of
the system with the smart meter in distribution involves billions of dollars of
investment and maintenance of the network (DEPURU, et al., 2011). Initially,
the process of replacement of the existing energy meters for the smart meter is
a challenge to the companies, because the lack of adequate infrastructure to
synchronize this new technology with the existing ones may interrupt the
introduction of the smart meters.
Related to the collected data, Depuru et al. (2011),
highlight that the use of the system of smart meters involves an enormous
quantity of data transfer between the concessionary company and the client,
these data are sensible and confidential, and the access to these should be
restricted. With those restrictions about the data, guidelines of security
shall be formulated to the gathering, transmission, storage and maintenance of
the data of energy consumption.
The quantity of data and information will
exponentially rise, and the correlation of those data and information will become
much more complex, highlight Li and Zhou (2011). With the explosive grow of the
volume of information in public electricity services; the problem of
information overcharge will become increasingly severe. In order to efficiently
filter all the available information to find the potential and valuable
knowledge to the companies of the electric sector, some new approaches should
be examined and developed.
Accordingly to Wissner (2011), the final goal of the
implementation of information technology and telecommunication in the energy
systems is to make most processes automatic and make communication easy and
efficient between different sectors. But, as it was presented previously, this
is one of Smart Grid’s greatest challenges in Brazil and the World.
The interoperability and protection of privacy of the
data are the problems that need to be solved in the information technology and
telecommunication context. All integrant and components of the system should be
capable of communicate between each other, and allow the perfect integration,
with operational security and integrity/security of the trafficked information.
In each part of the chain (generation, transmission, distribution and consumer)
there are different obstacles to be beaten.
Hashmi et al. (2011) highlight that Smart Grid’s
implementation is composed by much more than any technology associated the
benefits of making it a reality go way beyond the electric energy system. In
fact, this transition will not be easy nor quick. In Brazil, reach the potential
of Smart Grid will require a new level of cooperation between the members of
the industries, society, and mainly, the regulatory organs that have immediate
influence about the direction and time that the process must follow. The Smart
Grid is an evolution to an optimized and sustainable energy system, smarter,
efficient and reliable and will bring a positive influence about the climate
changes.
Even though many devices are integrated with the smart
meter system, they will be able to be used in their maximum extension only when
all equipment’s and devices in the distribution and measurement network are
integrated to the communication network. The integration of the devices becomes
even more complicated with a growing number of clients. It also may be considered
that the implementation of the communication network in some localities may be
though due geographical and technological issues.
Starting from an international experience of Smart
Grid’s implementation, a indirect risk to Brazil, related to the use of smart
meters, is related to the possibility of the consumer privacy violation due the
possibility of the disclosure of the data of detailed billing that could reveal
when the consumers are at home and how the use their devices. Another point
that may create resistance by the Brazilian consumers side is the fact of the
larger precision of the smart meters, it may result in a raise in the value of
the consumer bill, without changing the pattern of consume, as highlights
Krishnamurti et al. (2012). This question should serve as a attention point to
the installation of Smart Grid in Brazil, as it represents a previous research
theme to the development of the project.
A variety of social, cultural, economic and regulation
factors has been some of the decisive factors to the success of the
implementation of Smart Grid in several countries and probably, it will be in
Brazil. Krishnamurti et al. (2012) highlight that the first step to advance to
Smart Grid’s implementation goes through the implementation of programs of
answering and acceptance of the consumers to the installation of smart meters
in their residences. Fact that also needs to be examined in Brazil, to ensure
the success of the projects that will be performed to Smart Grid’s
implementation.
5.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
The benefits of Smart Grid's implementation and use
are evident to all agents involved in the production chain and consumption of
electric energy to the society in general. In the segment of electric energy
generation it will be possible to couple, use in an efficient way the renewable
sources of energy and distributed generation, as well as allow a larger
energetic use available through the cogeneration of energy of all and any
consumer unit. And, in this way, it will be possible to optimize the dispatch
of energy generation of all available sources aiming the lowest global cost of
generation and an improvement of the environmental sustainability with the
reduction emission of the greenhouse effect gases, in function of the fossil
fuels burning for electrical energy.
In the segment of transmission and distribution of
electric energy exists a lot of benefits such as the optimization of the use of
the transport capacity (conduction) of energy and its consequent improvement of
the assets management, that in Brazilian case, the operation of these systems
will be broadly benefited with Smart Grid, because it will exist the
possibility of monitoring in real time of the electric parameter of quality of
the service and the product, as the minimization of the areas affected by
interruptions of energy supplying.
It still should be highlighted the benefits of the
consumers that will be obtained through the use of smart meters and variable
tariff that will allow the management of its demand and consume and displacement
of the consume to the times of lower cost, that will cause a reduction of the
charged value in the bill of energy and reduction of the demand (charge) in the
peak hours of the system. This reduction of the demand in the peak hours of the
system reduces the needs of investments to the reinforcement of all productive
chain of electric energy and consequent tariff raise.
In the area of innovation and technology, Smart Grid
will allow the development of intelligent houses that allow the management,
automatic operation and remote of the electric and electronic equipment’s
installed in the residence, as the use of cogeneration (generation of
photovoltaic, wind energy, micro turbines, etc.) and electrical vehicles
(plug-in) connected to this residence.
The use of Smart Grid is quickly expanding all over
the world and its diffusion in Brazil is inevitable, yet some barriers to its
implementation must be overcome such as the improvement and reduction of costs
of the smart meters and development of the telecommunication network, because
to the adequate functioning of Smart Grid it is necessary an excellent
communication network due the enormous flow of measurement data that will need
to be received and treated without losses of information and in time to all
making of decisions.
A critical factor of success for Smart Grid's
implementation is to disrupt the cultural resistance of the residential
consumers as for the substitution of the conventional meters for the smart
meters, that are directly connected to the information systems of the
concessionaries and won't need that the consume reading and demand to be
performed in the presence of a reader.
In Krishnamurti et al. (2012) vision, there are
reasons to worry about the comprehension of the consumers about the smart
meters and lack of orientation about how to deal with the proactive politics
that help to explain and attend the consumers’ expectations, developing
simultaneously the communication that create realist expectations about the
benefits and risks, addressing explicitly the mistakes commonly found in the
mental models of the consumers forced to trust in the current available
information to them.
To Smart Grid's diffusion in Brazil, it is still
necessary to establish a regulatory mark to the electric sector that regulates
essential questions to the functioning of the productive chain of the national
electric system with Smart Grid. The regulation of the electric sector should
allow the rate design (higher tariff during peak hours and lower rate out times
of peak) of residential consumer, and allow that other classes of consumers,
independently of its level of consumption, become cogenerates and sell their
surplus of produced energy to the concessionary, in a dynamic way. It is also
fundamental that the regulation establish criteria of tariff coverage and
financial subsidy to make the needed investments to the substitution of the
park of conventional meters to smart meters (approximately 70 million meters),
that represent a very high cost, without encumbering too much the concessionary
or the consumer and cause economic unbalance between the agents.
As showed in this article, the implantation of Smart
Grid includes several challenges such as technological, operational, regulatory
and cultural, which need to be identified and beaten in Brazilian level,
because the obtained experience by other countries may not be replicated in
their plenitude for Brazil due the regional, cultural, regulatory,
infrastructure and technology differences. This way exists a vast field to be
developed researches in Smart Grid's area in Brazil, taking in consideration
the restrict existence of literature and studies regarding this in the country
and even the world, by treating of a contemporary matter with several areas of
knowledge involved.
REFERENCES
AL-ALI, A. R.; EL-HAG,
A.; BAHADIRI, M.; HARBAJI, M.; HAJ, Y. A. E. (2011) Smart Home Renewable Energy
Management System. Energy Procedia, n.
12.
BATTAGLINI, A.;
LILLIESTAM, J.; HAAS, A.; PATT, A. (2009) Development of SuperSmart Grids for a
more efficient utilisation of electricity from renewable sources. Journal of Cleaner Production, n. 17.
BLUMSACK, S.;
FERNANDEZ, A. (2012) Ready or not, here comes the smart grid! Energy n. 37.
CLASTRES, C. (2011) Smart
grids: Another step towards competition, energy security and climate change
objectives. Energy Policy, n. 39.
DEPURU, S. S. S. R.;
WANG, L.; DEVABHAKTUNI, V. (2011) Smart meters for power grid: Challenges,
issues, advantages and status. Renewable and Sustainable
Energy Reviews, n. 15.
FALCÃO, D. M. (2010) Integração de Tecnologias para
Viabilização da Smart Grid. III Simpósio
Brasileiro de Sistemas Elétricos (SBSE/2010), Brazil.
GARRIDO, J. (2008) Sistemas Energéticos para o Sector Edifícios em Portugal: Sustentabilidade e Potencial
de Inovação. Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Engenharia do Ambiente.
Universidade Nova Lisboa, Portugal.
GIORDANO, V.; FULLI, G.
(2012) A business case for Smart Grid technologies: A systemic perspective. Energy Policy, n. 40.
GOMES, R. C., PRINTES, A. L., RAMOS, C. M. (2010) Proposta
de Sistema com Arquitetura para Implementação de uma Smart Grid na Rede de
Distribuição de Baixa Tensão. III Simpósio Brasileiro de Sistemas Elétricos (SBSE/2010), Brazil.
HASHMI, M.; HÄNNINEN,
S.; MÄKI, K. (2011) Survey of Smart Grid Concepts, Architectures, and
Technological Demonstrations Worldwide. Innovative
Smart Grid Technologies (ISGT Latin America), 2011 IEEE PES Conference on.
HOU, H.; ZHOU, J.; HE,
X. (2011) A Brief Analysis on Differences of Risk Assessment between Smart Grid
and Traditional Power Grid. Knowledge
Acquisition and Modeling (KAM), 2011, Fourth International Symposium on.
JOHNSON, A. P. (2010) The
History of the Smart Grid Evolution at Southern California Edison. Innovative Smart Grid Technologies
(ISGT).
KRISHNAMURTI, T.;
SCHWARTZ, D.; DAVIS, A.; FISCHHOFF, B.; BRUIN, W. B.; LAVE, L.; WANGA, J. (2012)
Preparing for smart grid technologies: A behavioral decision research approach
to understanding consumer expectations about smart meters. Energy Policy, n. 41.
LI, Q.; ZHOU, M. (2011)
The Future-Oriented Grid-Smart Grid. Journal
of Computers, v. 6, n. 1.
NAIR, N-K. C.; ZHANG L.
(2009) SmartGrid: Future networks for New Zealand power systems incorporating
distributed generation. Energy Policy,
n. 37.
OTA, Y.; TANIGUCHI, H.;
NAKAJIMA, T.; LIYANAGE, K. M., BABA, J.; YOKOYAMA, A. (2012) Autonomous
Distributed V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) Satisfying Schduled Carging. Smart Grid, IEEE Transactions,
v. 3 Ed. 1.
SCHETTINO, S. (2013) Cenários do uso das redes elétricas inteligentes (Smart Grid): Tendências de sua difusão no Brasil. Dissertação
de Mestrado em Engenharia de Produção. Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Brasil,
2013.
WISSNER, M. (2011) The
Smart Grid – A saucerful of secrets? Applied
Energy, n. 88.
ZAHEDI, A. (2011) Smart
Grid: Opportunities & Challenges for Power Industry to Manage the Grid more
efficiently. APPEEC 2011 Asia-Pacific
Power and Energy Engineering Conference, Wuhan, China.