The electricity industry must undergo profound changes in the coming years, with the expansion of renewable sources, such as wind and solar, and the use of electric vehicles, energy production by the consumers themselves and the difficulty of regulating the reservoirs.Still, for a long time, hydroelectric plants will continue to be the basis of the Brazilian electricity system, which will keep the country as a world example of the use of renewable sources, according to the director general of the National System Operator (ONS), Luiz Eduardo Barata . 

The statement was made the evening of Sunday (19), during the opening of the 18th Ibero-American Regional Meeting (Eriac) of the Brazilian National Committee for the Production and Transmission of Electric Energy (Cigré), in Foz do Iguaçu (PR).The event was organized by Itaipu Binacional and the opening ceremony was attended by the Brazilian director general, Joaquim Silva e Luna, and the technical director José Maria Sánchez Tilleria, who represented the Paraguayan General Directorate. 

The seminar, the most important in the Ibero-American region of Cigré, continues until Thursday (23) at the Rafain Palace Hotel & Convention. In the five days, 600 participants and panelists from 10 countries are expected - Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Portugal and the Dominican Republic. 

In all, about 300 technical papers will be presented in 16 Cigré Study Committees, discussed simultaneously in eight different rooms. The idea is to promote the exchange of experiences capable of helping the sector to face the challenges of the present and the future. 

"This is a sophisticated and increasingly connected and interdependent area," said Brazilian General Director General Joaquim Silva e Luna, during his speech at the ceremony, in which he mentioned the importance of studies for works such as the technological update of the Itaipu."We have this great challenge that is already underway, in terms of planning and outlining what we need to do in this project. And we need to do that by generating the necessary demand for the two countries, "he explained."We are creating systems to integrate everything and this type of learning takes place in moments like this, exchanging knowledge, experience, creating unity and, above all, confidence."

Hydroelectric plants guarantee clean matrix 

Although there is a forecast of an increase of almost 5,000 MW in the installed capacity of hydroelectric plants in the country, by 2023, the participation of these projects in the Brazilian electricity system should decrease in percentage with the expansion of new sources such as wind and solar, from 67.5% to 64%."Despite this, the hydroelectric share will be the majority, which gives our matrix an exceptional characteristic of clean energy. In the long term, hydroelectric plants will continue to be the basis of the system, "said Barata. 

"There are countries that do not reach 30% of the matrix with renewable energy. We are leaving for the future with high levels in this aspect, with 87% of renewable sources, being 70% from hydraulic source, "added the director of Transmission of Eletrobras and technical vice president of Cigré, Marcio Szechtman.The subject was addressed by him in his lecture "Cigré's performance in the face of the disruptive evolution of the electric power sector," after the opening of the event. 

In Brazilian territory, the ONS perspective is that the electrical system will become increasingly complex, with the exchange of energy between the regions in direct and alternating current, the multiple use of water resources and the loss of capacity to regularize reservoirs.But Itaipu is off the radar of concerns. "This scenario has required a greater interaction between the National System Operator and those companies that operate the reservoirs. We do a daily job, in the search to optimize the level of regularization, explained the director general of the ONS."For many years the problems were smaller, because we had a very large regularization capacity. As this capacity has been depleted, this interaction with Itaipu has increased and has maintained an exceptional quality standard. "

45 years of integration 

For the honorary president of the 18th Eriac, Jorge Nizovoy, Itaipu represented a worldwide landmark in power engineering, which has "before and after" the creation of the binational, which turned 45 on the 17th. "Water can separate or unite . Here, what we saw was precisely the union, "he said, in analogy to the successful binationality of Itaipu. 

The integration promoted by the hydroelectric plant transcends its own enterprise, in the opinion of Josias Matos de Araújo, who represented the presidency of Cigré Brazil in this edition of Eriac. For him, Itaipu has been a historic partner of the electric sector by creating connections between companies through meetings such as the 18th Eriac."We are in the age of the internet of things, of connectivity. Events such as these connect knowledge and transform it into products for the Brazilian electrical system, contributing to its robustness capable of supporting contingencies, "he said.

The Eriac 

The international meeting is held every two years on the triple border. Its organization is attended by representatives from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay - the countries that alternately host the organization of the event.The 17th edition was held in Ciudad del Este in 2017 and the 19th in 2021 is scheduled to take place in Puerto Iguazú. In this 18th edition, Itaipu's Operation Superintendent, Celso Villar Torino, is the general coordinator of the organizing committee of the event. 

The program has a technical visit to Itaipu, today (23), from 8 am to 12 noon. The closing ceremony and award ceremony will be held the same day at 6:15 pm at the Rafain Palace Hotel & Convention. 

Yesterday, Wednesday (22), Eriac had the Forum of Nations, a parallel event with lectures by experts from the electric sector in Asia, Central America and Brazil. To see the complete agenda, go to http://www.xviiieriac.com.br/index.php?pagina=nav/programacao.