6 mins to read
CESAR .
2023-03-30T01:11:40
Equatorial Energia: smart system to predict failures
Unlike other countries, the electrical grids are integrated in most regions of Brazil (the exception is the state of Roraima), with a transmission infrastructure comprised of 156 auction concessionaires and 53 distribution concessionaires, according to data from the Brazilian Association of Electricity Distributors (ABRADEE). Within this context, a single failure can affect several networks and cause major impacts.
To prevent this type of occurrence, Equatorial Energia, a holding company that operates in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric energy in states of the North, Northeast, and South of Brazil, decided to invest in a project to automate equipment analysis and maintenance processes. The group then turned to In Forma Software, a company specialized in the power sector and a CESAR partner. This is how In Forma and CESAR joined forces to solve the challenge presented by Equatorial.
How can failures and shutdowns be avoided?
In the Brazilian power sector, transmission and distribution companies obtain revenue by providing the public utility of electricity transmission and distribution to users, who depend on the availability of the lines. In addition, since electricity cannot be stored in an economically viable way, it must be produced and made available instantaneously, depending on consumption. Thus, when there are failures, even for short periods, the system runs the risk of shutdowns, also called “blackouts,” which cause social and economic damage.
In this context, predictive maintenance is essential for power transmission and distribution companies to anticipate possible failures, reduce equipment interruption, and ensure greater availability of electrical substation assets. Together with In Forma, CESAR worked from October 2019 to March 2022 to extract and analyze data from Equatorial Energia’s equipment and build an articial intelligence with the ability to predict failures, anticipate disconnections, and generate planned responses in accordance with the power grid, with less impact on the system and the company itself.
“This is not a problem unique to Equatorial, it is an overall power sector difficulty: the pain
points are the same for distribution and transmission companies. If a company in the power sector does not make energy available, in addition to receiving a fine, it results in disruptions for several people and groups, sometimes for entire cities, and the social impact is very extensive. So it is essential to keep the equipment working as long as possible and avoid damage to society” says Luciana França, CESAR’s project manager.
Studies, modeling and testing
Equatorial’s motivation was to predict equipment failures in order to reduce impacts caused to the group’s substation operations. To achieve this goal, CESAR and In Forma used knowledge and experience in artificial intelligence and big data to build a predictive model using historical and test data from substation equipment. The work was dynamic and each of the partners had well-defined roles.
While In Forma and CESAR worked on the development, Equatorial provided data and technical guidance on the functioning of the processes, as well as support for building a model adherent to the company’s reality.
CESAR’s team of managers and engineers started with a state-of-the-art study: what is being done in this kind of situation in different companies and research and development groups. The next phase was execution, with data analysis, modeling, integration, and testing. Because it was a project that involved a lot of study and technical knowledge, the entire process was closely monitored by researchers at the 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 papers submitted to scientic journals, including one publication in an international journal, and we were able to approve several papers for presentations at events in the electricity sector. The results obtained and the consequent customer satisfaction showed that the partnership was successful and will certainly be repeated in other projects” explains Hemir Santiago, researcher at In Forma.
Deliveries and lessons learned
In the end, the partnership between CESAR, In Forma, and Equatorial produced a robust delivery consisting of an artificial intelligence model and a basis for failure prediction in the company’s equipment. Although the system has not yet been applied to Equatorial’s daily routine, the tests performed have indicated anomalies in the equipment’s behavior and in the company’s monitoring systems, thus preventing potential failures.
The main contributions and economic impacts of the project include:
- Reduction of Inputs: the system allows asset maintenance to be performed only when necessary, avoiding the unnecessary use of inputs.
- Postponement of Investment: predictive maintenance is able to provide an increase in the useful life of equipment, postponing its replacement.
- Reduction in Man-hours: the system allows assets to be maintained only when necessary, avoiding the suboptimal use of man-hours.
“This project did not intend to produce a product, but a proof of concept, an analysis that would later serve as the basis for a new project, which would then go into production. But Equatorial’s own team understood that what we were delivering should already be put into production. This shows the result we were able to achieve: what moves us is to somehow transform the client’s daily routine and actually create value,” says Eldrey Galindo, an AI specialist at CESAR and technical leader of the Equatorial Energia project.
More than the products delivered, the project resulted in a series of lessons learned. For CESAR, working with Equatorial meant expanding technical knowledge in relation to the power sector and predictive maintenance, which can be applied and improved in other projects and contexts. For Equatorial, the partnership with CESAR and In Forma has broadened its vision on the potential of R&D development to transform and provide gains to the company’s processes and to the power sector – and all of society benefits from it.
“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. The take away from this partnership is to try to bring more projects that add even more to our daily lives. R&D needs to be treated not only as a regulatory obligation, but as an opportunity for the company to grow and develop technical capabilities. That 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 of partners and startups to develop smart, robust, and scalable solutions capable of meeting companies’ needs. We are able to develop projects that aim to promote and enable the complete cycle of the research, development, and innovation (RD&I) chain.