Smart Electrical Grid
The Intelligent Electric Network Program, the largest of its kind in Latin America, was born from a pilot project by Copel in 2018, in Ipiranga, Campos Gerais, covering five thousand consumer units in the urban and rural areas of the municipality with excellent results.
In 2022, Copel began installing smart meters in seven other municipalities in the Center-South region of Paraná. An investment for technological replacement at no cost to the consumer and without burdening the energy bill, with cost reduction for the Company.
Candói, Espigão Alto do Iguaçu, Reserva do Iguaçu, Cantagalo, Marquinho, Virmond and Porto Barreiro entered the implementation calendar of the new technology that replaces energy meters, creating direct and real-time communication with the ‘Integrated Operation Center of Copel Distribution (CIDIS).
The seven municipalities complete the first stage of the program, which includes 73 cities in the Center-South, Southwest and West regions of Paraná, in an investment of R$ 252 million, with direct benefit to 1.5 million people from Paraná (462 thousand consumer units ).
The deployment of sensors and remote control devices allow the power grid to automatically reconnect. In cases where this does not happen, the Company can detect and remedy any disconnection problems from the Integrated Distribution Operation Center in Curitiba.
If there is a need for technical intervention, the center indicates the exact point that generated the power outage, speeding up the time for restoration, expanding the quality of life in the municipalities and safety for agribusiness and industries, in addition to preventing damage to home appliances.
The project creates an infrastructure for connectivity to other applications. Enabling immediate applications, such as the implementation of network reconfiguration systems (self-healing) and automation of automatic reclosers or voltage regulators. Equipment that in real time integrates with CIDIS information systems, creating the potential to integrate other services in the future, such as management of distributed microgeneration, use of energy storage technologies, management of smart street lighting and management of electric car supply.
