The Covid-19 pandemic caused a significant reduction in requests for studies of access to distributed generation (DG), as well as an impact on the growth of requests for new facilities, by entrepreneurial companies, to the country’s electricity utilities. In addition, the change in the pattern of energy consumption, determined by social isolation and work in the home office, had an impact on the distribution network, forcing concessionaires to carry out load balancing to adapt to this new standard.
These are some of the conclusions of the distributed generation and pandemic webinar, held on Thursday (06/18) by SiDi, Campinas technology institute, in partnership with Cigré Brasil’s Distributed Generation Working Group (GTGD) – Brazilian National Electricity Production and Transmission Committee. More than 90 people from all over the country participated in the event, representing companies in the sector, universities and research institutions, among others interested in the subject.
The debate brought together six prominent professionals in the area of distributed generation and was led by Ciceli Martins, secretary of the C6 Studies Committee – Active Distribution Systems and Distributed Energy Resources of Cigré Brasil. In addition to the impacts of the pandemic on the DG scenario, the webinar also discussed trends and expectations regarding the future of this sector.
Paulo Silas Fernandes, senior business development consultant at SiDi, says that there is an expectation of a resumption of growth in the second half, with the increase in requests for access from distributed generation – which should return to the pace before the pandemic. “The debate made it clear that the digital transformation of the electricity sector, with the adoption of appropriate technological tools, will be mandatory”, says Fernandes. “This transformation will provide new business models, which will allow companies to work more flexibly, with a consequent reduction in operating costs and increased efficiency”, he concludes.
SiDi is a member of Cigré-Brasil and has been working on the development of innovative technological solutions for companies in the electricity sector.