The National Electric System Operator (ONS) began implementing new operating rules in Bahia that allow for a more balanced distribution of wind and solar energy generation cuts that have been occurring mainly in the Northeast.
In a statement this Thursday, the agency stated that this rule, which has already been applied since September in Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte, involves a “clusterization” to control flows in the electrical system, “avoiding accentuated imbalances at the point of operation, mitigating risks to the operation”.
Restrictions on wind and solar generation in Brazil increased significantly this year, a problem that has been worrying investors due to “wasted” and unrecovered energy.
Last month, the ONS increased the exchange limits for energy generated in the Northeast to the Southeast/Central-West and North subsystems, after new transmission facilities came into operation.
But generation cuts, technically called “curtailments”, still continue, and have been imposed by the ONS mainly as a measure to guarantee the reliability of the electrical system and respect limits of the national transmission network.
“At this moment, the clustering will be specifically aimed at the restrictions related to the Bahia Flow in its Southwest region (FBASO) and the charging control of the Series Capacitors of the LTs (transmission lines) 500 kV Rio das Éguas – Barreiras II C2 and C5, in cases of contingency of one of these circuits”, explained the ONS, in a note.
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The expansion of the rule to other regions of the Brazilian system will be evaluated, “seeking to guarantee operational safety and the efficient use of available electroenergetic resources”, he added.
