2004 IEEE/PES Transmission & Distribution Conference & Exposition: Latin America
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The Experiences with the Application of the First Electricity Pre-Payment System in Brazil Installed at an Isolated Community in the Amazon Region C. F. de 0.Barbosa, GEDAWUFPA, J. T. Pinho, GEDAE/UFPA, M. A. E. Galhardo, GEDAE/UFPA, D. P. Cruz, GEDAE/UFPA, and R. G . Araujo, CENPES/PETROBRAS still been legated to second plan, is the employment of the energy sources (water, sun, wind, biomass, etc.) found in the areas of inclusion of those communities, that, depending on the several conversion technologies, they can be used for electric power generation. Though, the global problem does not only limit in finding the best alternative for the generation of electricity, but also how to find the best administration modeI, that corresponds to the administration and the taxation, to these systems for from the great centers, that guarantee their sustainability. For this reason, for SHo Tom6 village, it was opted by the employment of a new manager system type in Brazil, that, depending on its technical and economical effectiveness, it Indew TermsIsolated Community, Hybrid System, can be replied in other alternative electrification systems in Electricity Pre-Payment System. dispersed isolated areas in the whole national temtory, or, also, in the existent conventional electric systems. I. INTRODUCION It is a pre-payment electric power system, which is globally oday in Brazil, according to researches accomplished by called pre-paid system, similar to the system of anticipated the Federal Government in what is refereed the Program payment regarding the supplied services by the mobile phone "Luz para Todos", it is estimated that about 12 millions of companies, the already known card cellular phone. Besides, such system (anticipated purchase), in a certain Brazilians are private of the essential service of electricity, way, it is already used by the population that form these being that and 10 millions are in the countryside [ 11. This fact is evidenced mainly in the Amazon Region, where communities, once the acquisition of their energy, as batteries, thousands of isolated communities exist with little or almost diesel oil, candles, recharge of storage batteries, etc., is given any possibility to be assisted by the conventional electric with the anticipated payment. Therefore, in this work the main characteristics of that power network, be for technical, economical or political electricity pre-paid system implanted at the SBo Tom6 village reasons. Of the alternatives that exist for the energy supply of those will be broached, that together with the hybrid system form an communities, the one that stands out and still prevails is the electrification system considered pilot, being given emphasis service with small centrals constituted by diesel generating to a description of the components that compose it, to the groups, however, such systems in the current world advantages and disadvantages proportioned by its employment conjuncture are not seen as a correct ecologically alternative, and the acceptance degree of the local population for being a besides the problems faced with the transport of the diesel to new system, without any data of its applicability in Brazil. those isolated areas. 11. CHARACTERIZATION OF THECOMMUNITY Another alternative that seems quite obvious, but that has According to the References [2] and [3] the S b Tom6 C. F. de 0.Barbosa, (e-mail:
[email protected]), J. T. Pinho, (e-mail: community possesses the following characteristics. Absrracr- This work consists of the exhibition of the acquired experiences with the application of the first electricity prepayment system in Brazil installed in an isolated community ( S l o Tomb village), located in the Amazon Region, being supplied by electric power through a hybrid PV-wind-diesel system generation. In this way the characterization of the communities is presented (location, socioeconomic profile and load data), the description of the hybrid system and in details the prepayment system. Besides, it i s numbered as the benefits (advantages) as the proportioned disadvantages to the components of the electric system of the village with the use of this last one and the acceptance degree of the local population.
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[email protected]), M. A. B. Galhardo, (e-mail:
[email protected]), and D. P. C m , (e-mail:
[email protected]), Group of Studies and DeveIopment of A. L O C d i Z Q t k ? n Energy Alternatives (GEDAE), Universidade Federal do Para (UFPA), Caixa The SBo Tome village is located to the north of the Postal 8605, Ag. N~icleo Universitario, 66075-900, BelCm-Para-Brazil. MaracanS municipal district, to the margins of the Maracanl PhonelFax: +55 91 3183-1299/1977. R. G. Arahjo, (e-mail
[email protected]), bay, close to Atlantic ocean, registering the geographical PETROBRAS/CENPES/PDEDS/GEN, PrCdio Penmetrat, Avenjda Um, coordinates 0" 44' 24" S and 47" 28' 59" W (Fig. 1). Quadra 7-21949-900-Rio deJaneiro-RJ-Bnril.
0-7803-8775-9/04/$20.00 02004 IEEE
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Fig. 2. Load curve of the viltage.
111. PV-WIND-DIESEL HYBMDSYSTEM In September 2003 was begun the operation of the electric power generation alternative system of the S b Tome village, being of the PV-wind-diesel type hybrid, isolated and autonomous, with the storage of the electric power generated by the renewable sources done by the association of batteries and the complement of the generation with a diesel-electric backup generation (Fig. 3). SCALE lQOD00Dilil Fig. 1. Location map of the Slo Tome village.
Its ecosystem is of beach type distributed in firm land, occupying an area of approximately 25 ha. The access to the village can be made entirely by the route mesh, alternating federal and state highways, or by the route mesh, until the municipal seat (Maracana), and from this place by waterway being used small port boats, which make the course in 20 minutes, on average. B. Socioeconomic Profile Fig. 3. Scheme o f the hybrid system of the village.
The population of the village is composed by approximately 226 people distributed in 40 families. The Table L presents the main data of the hybrid system 131. The village is constituted by approximately 67 buildings TABLE I (89% are already assisted), being in its majority made by mud DATAOF THE HYBRID SYSTEM (very common fact in rural villages, where are found, its 40 (80 Wp each one) Number of PV modules largely, building constructions of wood or mud), disposed in Turbine wind 10 kW an irregular configuration, not existing an addresses system 40 (12 V1150 Ah each one) Number of storage batteries (numbered houses, streets denominations, etc.). Its economy is based on the extraction of the local natural 15 kW (1 20 Vm/220 VAC) Inverter resources, being stood out the fishing activities (main income Diesel generator group I20 kVA source), crab capture for own consumption and commercialization of the excess, and agricultural, subsistence IV. PRE-PAIDSYSTEM only, where is stood out the cassava cultivation for the flour A . A New Management Model production. In general lines, one of the problems related intimately with C. LoadDatu sustainability of the alternative electric systems installed in The load data (consumption) of the village are typical of an isolated areas and, consequently, with their effectiveness, isolated community with low demand, having an increase at refers to the management structures. the nightfall (Fig. 2), verifying the pick demand in the period Being taken as base previous experiences of other between the 6:OO and 7:OO pm. electrification systems already implanted in the region, in The load curve represented in Fig. 2 was obtained through most with social character only, those administration outlines the remote supervision system implanted in the community possess as larger support an administration accomplished by and described in the Reference 131. the own community through an organization or community association, that a lot of times it does not count with the 664
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fundamental help of the municipal city hall. In addition, the financial aid for the execution of the maintenance activities and operation of the electrification system is obtained through a monthly tax collection to each consumer unit, being this taxation type in general corresponding to an average value of the total of the expenses in energy (kerosene oil, batteries, candles, etc.) for each consumer unit formerly used. That collected financial resource is applied then in the diesel purchase (energy vector more used individually or combined with other sources in the alternative electrification systems of the region), or some necessary material to the preventive or corrective maintenance of the electrification system. However, that taxation type does not reflect the real consumption of each consumer unit, contributing to the non sustainability of the system, because depending on the situations, in some consumer units there will be less consumption and in others more. An alternative to revert that situation would be the adoption of the taxation conventional system, however, such alternative would increase the operationaI costs of the system, with the need of periodic readings of the measurer, emission and delivery of bill, etc.. It is still observed that the own local populations, with their culture exclusively of consumption and no conservative of the energy, are also constituted as causer agents of that failure, because for them while the system works, everything is very well, not worrying, therefore, with the prolongation of the useful life of the equipments that compose the system through their good and appropriate use, Starting from those premises in what is referred to the alternative search for the sustainability and maintenance of the electrification systems in isolated areas, this work presents the experiences of something innovative in the national scenery, that is, a new electric power commercialization system through the anticipated payment of the service, the prepayment. That system is globally denominated pre-paid being the installed type in the community similar to that employed in the mobile telephony, with the outstanding difference of the need of the effective use of a card for the credit transfer in the k W h form (to see Fig. 4), while in that one of the telephony there is only the need of the inclusion of an alpha numeric code. The technology of that system type is already very nature and spread in the whole world, as in the case of Argentina, that according to the Reference 141 it comes since 1993 investing massively in that type of electric power sale. The system here discussed is a pilot, that can be replied as a management model in other electrification systems in isolated areas or, still, in the conventional system (in the developed countries, the pre-paid system is already used in this type of electrification system). its functionality is similar to that one of the previously described managements structures, where the community takes care of the electrification system and the captured financial resources are reverted for the good operation of the same. However. with the pre-payment of the service, there is the perfect equilibrium between the supplied service and the consumption.
Besides, this model type combats directly one of the causes of the failure of the current models, the excessive consumption, because facilitates the management of the consumption by the user, important characteristic for an alternative electrification system of the hybrid type, as in the case of the implanted at the Slo Tom6 viIlage, that needs favorable climatic conditions. The management of the consumption is accomplished with the purchase of certain amounts of electric power (amount of present credits in the card in kWh), what provides to the user: Practicability: the user can acquire the amount of enough electric power for his welfare, avoiding, this way, he waste; Easiness: in case the user needs more electric power, it is enough he to acquire new credits. That management assures that the hybrid system assists a band of pre-established and reliable demand to maintain the quality electric power supply, with little or any interruption. To proceed, it is made a description of the pre-paid system.
B. Description of the System The electric energy commercialization pre-paid system of Siio tomb village (Fig. 4) consists of three basic components: Processina Central. Sale Point and Consumer Unit.
Fig. 4. Scheme of the pre-paid sysfem.
1) Processing Central The processing central has the function of storing the data regarding each consumer unit, through the creation of an individual register. In addition, that central administers the credentialed establishments (sale points), the credit generation (taxation) for the sale points and the credit sale registers. In the case of the pre-paid system of the Siio Tome village, the processing central, that works as if it was an electric power dealership, is located in the Group of Studies and Development of Energy Altematives (GEDAE). 2) Sale Point The sale point is the place where are carried the load processes of credits in the new cards and recharge in the used ones, and the sale of the same. The ideal location of the sale point is next to the area of inclusion of the electrification system that uses the prepayment system. However, due to the infrastructure in the Slo Tomb village and technical knowledge for the manipulation of the equipments, this sale point is located also in GEDAE. However, the sale of the cards is made in the own community by the operators of the system, that periodicaHy receive new loaded cards for the commercialization and return the used already ones for recharge.
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3) Consumer Unit The consumer unit is constituted by the electronic singlephase measurer of the series SMT 1510 [SI, especially adjusted for the use in the Siio Tomb village with the manager unit SMT 4000 161, that together allow the transfer of preestablished credits through the acquisition of cards and the accompaniment of the consumption by the user. a) Electronic Single-phase Measurer SMT 1510 The electronic measurer SMT 1510 of electric power (Fig. 5), of the DieboldProcomp, was developed with national technoIogy, allying robustness, facility of maintenance and installation, simplicity of operation and appropriate functional characteristics to attend to the specifications of the relative norms to the electric power measurer.
Fig. 5. Electronic measurer S M T 1510.
The information (functions and electric grandeurs) are presented in the viewer in a cyclical way, that is, with automatic bearing with 6 seconds of exhibition for each value, or by actuating of the selection buttons of the front panel. The measurer is also endowed with an exclusive system of watcldcalendar of high precision that spares adjustments during a11 its period of useful life (it is estimated 15 years). Such system allows the programming of until 4 hourly positions for every day of the week, making possible, this way, the multi-taxation as, the Yellow Tax, or the Tax of the Dawn. b) Energy Manager SMT 4000 The energy manager is an unit of simple intendance, and could be installed in places of easy access inside of the consumer unit. Through it is carried out the load or transfer of credits, still allowing the accompaniment, that is, the monitor the energy consumption by the user through information, such as the balance of credits, the autonomy of the credits and the power of the load in use. Its interface (Fig. 6 ) was conceived seeking to facilitate to the maximum the operation on the part of the user.
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Fig. 6. Manager SMT 4000.
A cable makes the communication between the manager (installed inside of the consumer unit) and the measurer, serving as connection link in the search of information, as well as feeding (1 2 VDC)of the manager. The manager unit is still endowed with signah or resonant alarms (buzzer), visual (led) and warning messages in the display, that inform to the user the need of replacement of credits for the energy consumption. c) Smart Card The smart card is the bearer agent of the data for credit (value and cryptogram). The value of the credit of each card is on the electric power form (kWh), which was standardized for 30 kWh to the S b Tomb village. The tax collected by these 30 kWh is equal to R$ 12,00, that corresponds a little more of the half of the average costs of energy (approximately R$ 23,OO [3]) formerly used. That selected amount represents, today, a part of the necessary refund to the maintenance, to the operation of the hybrid system, as well as to the compensation by the services supplied by the operators. Fig. 7 shows the smart card layout to the Sto Tom6 village.
Fig. 7. Smart card layout.
C. Advantages Proportioned by the Pre-Paid System. Analyzing the operative characteristics of the pre-payment system, it can be stood out the following advantages to each component of the electric system of the SHo Tomt village. For the Consumer: Administration of the consumption of the electric power, determining the spent amount and the moment of the purchase; Possibility of the purchase of amounts of energy so many times how many to be necessary; Possibility of storage of credits of energy; Adaptation to the flotation of the income (strictly
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dependent of the fishing) of the local population. For the Electrification System: I . Reduction of the consumption; 2. Origin of an anticipated fund, with the money flow with the sale of the cards before the delivery of the service; 3 . Automatic cut of the electric power supply promoted by the own measurer, after the end of the credits inserted previously and of the reserve credits; 4. Accumulative register of the consumption (energy) of the consumer unit; 5. Reduction of the operational costs, avoiding expenses with reading of measurers, emission and delivery of bills, collection taxes, etc.; 6. Elimination of the breach of contract.
the cards;
Excess of positive credits: In way similar to the previous problem, only that in this situation, the user would not need to acquire new credits for a long time; Failure in the communication with the manager: That failure disabled the consultation of information by the user, as well as the transfer of new credits. All those technical problems that came, in a certain way were still acceptable, once the equipments that compose the measurement system and pre-paid management are prototypes, while the system as a whole, a pilot. In order to eliminate such problems and, consequently, the discomfort provoked by the same ones, the GEDAE, following orientations the manufacturer of the equipments, collected same field information (data regarding the operation of the hybrid system, and of the electronic measurer and D. Disadvantages Proportioned by the Pre-Paid System managers), and sent some equipments to the manufacturer, The main disadvantages observed from the use of the pre- which identified the causes and it made the due corrections. payment system are mentioned below. Those equipments were already again installed in the 1. Cost very high; community and now they present a good operation. 2. Reliability (the equipments are still prototypes); However, to avoid entirely the upset provoked by the bad 3. Thefl of energy, as in the conventional systems of operation of the measurers to the population, it was put in taxation, there is great possibility of the action a strategic plan, that it consisted of the identification of accomplishment of a bypass in the measurers. the measurers with the problems considered more serious (for example, excess of negative credits and, consequently, the not E. The Experiences and the Acceptance of Pre-Payment supply of energy to the consumer unit) and in the gradual On September 5 , 2003, the Siio Tomk community was substitution of the same ones. For that, it was acquired twenty contemplated with the supply of the electric power originated new measurers revised already by the manufacturer for such from the generation of the PV-wind-diesel hybrid system. In end. this way, 30 k W h were distributed, that is, a smart card to each beneficiary consumer unit without any onus. v. CONCLUSrON The transfer procedure of those credits in the first moment The employment of the first pilot system of anticipated was accomplished by specialized people with the accompaniment of the users, that besides receive explanations payment for the electric power service opens a new horizon as during the procedure, still received primers and informative for the investors (the problems with the breach of contract, the pamphlets about the main aspects of the pre-payment system cui, the emission and the bills sending are softened) as for the consumers (effective control on its demand, implicating won and on how to accomplish the correct load procedure. budget and efficient use of the energy). The local population did not show difficulties in It is feels that the electric power pre-paid system is the most manipulating the elements (pre-paid system) of the consumer unit, absorbing, like that, in their quotidian, the new convenient form to provide the necessary resources for a better operation of the electrification system (reliability and commerciaIization form of the electricity service. Regarding the acceptance of the system, for being safety), to remunerate the services supplied by the operators something new, in the beginning the curiosity was verified and, still, maybe to remunerate the long term investments and also a certain distrust from the population. However, aRer accomplished in the implantation of the system. Finally, the acquired experiences served to the creation of a the same noticed that the functionality of the pre-payment system reflected clearly the way used for acquisition of their database that will constitute a base for all and any future energy (batteries, diesel oil, recharge of storage batteries, etc.) development associated to the implantation of other similar associated to the promotion of the life quality, besides systems, converging, in this way, in an efficient and suitable allowing an administration of the consumption with the way for the sustainability of the same ones. purchase of certain amounts of electric power. VI. REFERENCES Consequently, in the first month of operation of the system, though a raise of the average consumption for consumer unit, Energia El6ti-b para Todos os Brasileiros at& 2008. Nota a Imprenst (2003, Nov). Ministerio de Minas e Energia. Disponivel: it was observed that the credits of 30 kWh of a card would last h~:ii~.“e.gov.brlnoticias.asp?urlia~Z~3/~o~e~bra~o~o approximately two months, due to the low consumption. vembro2003.htm. However, in the sequent months a part of the electronic A. H. de C. Ribeiro., C . F. de 0 . Barbosa e D. P.C w , “Relattjrios No. measures presented technical problems, such as: 02: Caracteri@o Sbcio-EconBmica da Comunidade de Si0 Tomk (Maracan&‘PA),” Grupo de Estudas e Desenvolvimento de Alternativas Excess of negative credits: Some measures presented Energeticas, Belem-Pad, dez. 2003. absurd values of negative credits, that disabled the C. F de 0. Barbosa, “Montagem, Comissionamentoe Telesupewislo de replacement of the credits by the transfer of present credits in um Sistema Hibrido Solar-Eolico-Diesel para Geraqiio de Eletricidade,”
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Trabalho de Conclusiio de Curso, Universidade Federal do Pari,Centro Tecnol6gic0, Eng. EMxica, mar 2004. [4] R. Brugger, “Estado Actual de Tecnologia Prepago de Electricidad en Argentina,” Conferincia CLER, SHo Jod, Costa Rica, 2001. [SI Manual de Medidores Eletr6nicos SmartMeter - SMT 1510, PROCOMP Indktria Eletrhca, SZo Paulo, mar. 2003 [6] Guiu do Usuurio do Gerenciudor SMT 4000, PROCOMP indhtna Eletdnica, Sb Paulo. fev. 2003.
VTI. BIOGRAPHIES C. F. de Oliveira Barbosa was bom in Macaps, Amp&, Brazil, on Febmry 8, 1980. He received the B.Sc. degree in electncal engineering from the Universidade Federal do (UFPA), PA, Brazil, in 2004. Since 2002 he is a member of the Group of Studies and Development of Energy Alternatives (GEDAERIFPA). He is now working towards the M.Sc degree in Electrical Engineering at the UFPA. His current research interests are in the areas of renewable energy and hybrid systems for electncity generation.
J, T, PInho was born in Belim, Pari, Brazil, on August 22, 1955. He received the BSc degree in etectrical engineenng from the Universidade Federal do Pad (Brazil) in 1977, the MSc degree in electrical engineering from the Pontificia Universidade Cat6lica do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 1984, and the Dr.-ing. degree in electncal engineenng from the RheinischWestfalische Technische Hochschule Aachen (Germany) in 1990. He has been with the Department of Electrical and computation Engineering of the Universidade Federal do Pari since 1978, has worked as an assistant at the RWTB Aachen, was the coordinator o f the post-graduation c o m e in electncal engineering at the UFPA from 1992 to 1494, and is presently a full professor and leader of a research group on energy alternatives and microwave applications. His research interests have been centered on electromagnetics, especially on microwave applications, and on the application of hybnd systems for the generation of eiectncity, especially those involving photovoltaic and wind energy. In these mas he has supervised many graduate and undergraduate works and published several papers. Prof. Pinho IS ad hoc advisor for several committees and institutjons in Brazil, member of various scientific societies, and presently co-chair for Region 9 of MTT-S/lEEE. M. A. B. Galhardo was bom in Beldm, B m l , on September 7, 1976. Received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electncal engineering fmm Universidade Federal do P a d (UFPA), PA, Brazil, in 1999 and 2002, respectively. Since 1998 he is a member of the Group of Studies and Development of Energy Alternatives (GEDAEILTFPA). He IS now working towards the Ph D. degree in Electncal Engineering at the UFPA. His current research interests are in the areas of renewable energy, hybrid systems, energy efficiency and power quality.
D. P. Cruz was bom in BelCm, Pari, Brazil, on July 3, 1982. Since 2002 he is a member of the Group of Studies and Development of Energy Alternatives (GEDAE/UFPA). He is now working towards the B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from Universidade Federal do Para (UFFA), PA, Brazil. His current research interests are in the areas of renewable energy and hybrid systems for electricity generation.
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R C. Aralijo was born in Caratinga, Minas Gemis, Brazil, on August 13, 1967 He received the B.Sc. degree in 1997, the M.Sc. degree in 2000 and is now in the D.Sc course. All of them in electrical engineering at the Universidade Federal do b o de Janeiro, Brazil. He has been working in the Research Center of Petrbleo Brasileiro S A (PETROBUS) since 2001 His interests are renewable energies, specially photovoltaics, and off-gnd supply for rural electrification
