In contrast to other countries, in most regions of Brazil (with the exception of the state of Roraima), the electrical grids are integrated, featuring a transmission infrastructure composed of 156 licensed concessionaires and 53 distribution concessionaires, according to data from the Brazilian Association of Electric Energy Distributors (ABRADEE). In this context, a single failure can affect multiple networks and cause significant impacts.
To prevent such occurrences, Equatorial Energia, a holding company operating in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric energy in Northern, Northeastern, and Southern Brazil, decided to invest in a project to automate the processes of analysis and maintenance of equipment. The group then sought In Forma Software, a company specializing in the electrical sector and a partner of CESAR. This led to In Forma and CESAR joining forces to solve the challenge presented by Equatorial.
How to avoid failures and shutdowns?
In the Brazilian energy sector, transmission and distribution companies earn revenue from the public service of transmitting and distributing electric energy to users, who depend on the availability of lines. Furthermore, as electricity cannot be stored economically, it must be produced and made available instantaneously, depending on consumption. Therefore, when there are failures, even for short periods, the system risks shutdowns, the so-called “blackouts”, which cause social and economic losses.
In this context, for energy transmitters and distributors, predictive maintenance is essential to anticipate possible failures, reduce equipment interruptions, and ensure greater availability of assets in electrical substations. Working with In Forma, CESAR operated between October 2019 and March 2022 to extract and analyze equipment data from Equatorial Energia and build an artificial intelligence capable of predicting failures, anticipating shutdowns, and generating planned responses in accordance with the energy network, with less impact on the system and the company itself.
“This is not a problem exclusive to Equatorial, it is a difficulty of the electric sector: the pains are the same for both distributors and transmitters. If an electric sector company fails to provide energy, besides receiving a fine, it causes disturbances to many people and groups, sometimes to entire cities, and the social impact is very large. Therefore, it is essential to keep the equipment operational as long as possible and avoid damages to society,” says Luciana França, project manager at CESAR.
Studies, Prototyping and Testing
Equatorial’s motivation was to predict equipment failures to reduce impacts on the operations of the group’s substations. To achieve this goal, CESAR and In Forma used their knowledge and experience in artificial intelligence and big data to build a predictive model using historical and test data from the substation equipment.
The work was dynamic, and each of the partners had well-defined roles. While In Forma and CESAR worked on development, Equatorial provided data and technical guidance on the processes, as well as support for building a model that adhered to the company’s reality.
The CESAR team, consisting of a manager and engineers, began with a study on the state of the art, aiming to respond to the following question: what is being done in this type of situation in different companies and research and development groups? The next phase was execution, involving data analysis, modeling, integration, and testing.
As it was a project that involved extensive study and technical knowledge, the entire process was closely monitored by researchers from CESAR School and the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE). The work even led to the production of a master’s thesis, scientific articles, and participation in academic events.
“Together with CESAR, we produced articles submitted to scientific journals, including a publication in an international journal, and we were able to approve several works for presentations at events in the electrical sector. The results obtained and the consequent satisfaction of the client showed that the partnership was successful and will certainly be repeated in other projects,” explains Hemir Santiago, a researcher at In Forma.
Deliveries and Learnings
In the end, the partnership between CESAR, In Forma, and Equatorial produced a robust delivery consisting of an artificial intelligence model and a base for predicting failures in the company’s equipment. Although the system has not yet been applied in Equatorial’s day-to-day operations, the tests conducted identified anomalies in the behavior of the equipment, preventing potential failures, and in the company’s monitoring systems.
Among the main contributions and economic impacts of the project are:
- Reduction of inputs: the system allows assets to undergo maintenance only when necessary, avoiding the unnecessary use of inputs.
- Postponement of Investment: predictive maintenance can increase the equipment’s lifespan, postponing its replacement.
- Reduction of Man-hours: the system enables assets to undergo maintenance only when necessary, avoiding inappropriate use of man-hours.
“This project was not aimed at a product, but at a proof of concept, an analysis that would later serve as a basis for a new project, this one to go into production. But Equatorial’s own team understood that what we were delivering should already be put into production. This highlights the result we achieved: what drives us is to somehow transform the client’s day-to-day life and indeed generate value,” says Eldrey Galindo, AI specialist at CESAR and technical leader of the Equatorial Energia project.
More than the products delivered, the project brought a series of learnings. For CESAR, working with Equatorial meant expanding technical knowledge in relation to the electrical sector and predictive maintenance, which can be applied and improved in other projects and contexts. For Equatorial, the partnership with CESAR and In Forma broadened the vision of the potential of R&D development to transform and bring gains to the company’s processes and the energy sector – and society as a whole benefits from this.
“This was Equatorial’s second R&D project. Seeing how CESAR and In Forma conducted the work with us was a great learning experience. For the group itself, it was very impactful because we had a lot of adherence. What we can take from this partnership is to try to bring in more projects that add even more to our daily routine. R&D does not need to be treated only as a regulatory obligation but as an opportunity for the company to grow and develop technical capabilities. In this way, we can improve performance in the management and maintenance of our transmission lines and facilities,” explains Matheus da Silva, O&M management analyst at Equatorial Energia.
CESAR is an expert in innovation and operates in a network with partners and startups in the development of intelligent, robust, and scalable solutions capable of meeting the needs of companies. We are able to develop projects that aim to promote and facilitate the complete cycle of the research, development, and innovation chain (R&D&I).