Transmission


Macaé-Campos transmission lines I, II e III (Credit: Daniela Monteiro)


A set of transmission lines interconnected to substations, cutting across several geographical regions of Brazil, constitutes what is commonly called the Transmission System. The basic FURNAS network including 138, 230, 345, 500, 750 and ± 600 kV lines that span eight states and the Federal District.

The FURNAS System is supervised by the System Operation Center, in coordination with other regional operation centers. Information from the most remote areas is transmitted using communication technologies that provide a online overview of the entire system, using real-time computer systems (SOL) and the cutting-edge videowall technologies.

The regional operations centers’ main responsibilities are coordinating operations and normalizing the energy system after potential disruptions. These regional operations centers are:

  • Minas Regional Center, located at the FURNAS Hydroelectric Power Plant, which includes operational responsibility for the Grande River power plants;

  • Rio Regional Center, located at the Jacarepaguá Substation,which includes operational responsibility for the Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo feeder lines;

  • São Paulo Regional Center, located at the Campinas Substation, which is also responsible for the Greater São Paulo feeder lines and the Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Plant transmission system;

  • Goiás Regional Center, located at the Itumbiara Plant, which is also responsible for the Goiás, Mato Grosso, Federal District and a share of the Tocantins feeding lines.

The System Operation Center and the Telecommunications Supervision Center are both located in Rio de Janeiro.


Itaipu System
 

Foz do Iguaçú-Ivaiporã transmission line (Credit: Daniela Monteiro)


The Itaipu Transmission System is one of the projects built and operated by FURNAS. It has five transmission lines spanning 900 km, from Paraná to São Paulo. This system has three lines carrying alternating 750 kV current and two lines carrying direct ± 600 kV current. This setup is required to overcome the problem of the different frequencies used by Brazil and Paraguay.