Spotlight: Brazil’s power transmission substation map

Brazil has at least 33 power transmission substations programmed to come online in 2022, according to data from energy research company EPE obtained by BNamericas via the federal freedom of information act. 

The units are mostly concentrated in the southeast and south regions of the country, especially in the states of Minas Gerais, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. 

Click on the image or here to see the interactive map.

By 2033, a total of 85 substations are scheduled to begin operations, but the amount does not include 89 units whose starting date has not yet been set. 

The EPE projects that 30.8bn reais (US$6.6bn) in investments will be required for substations in the country by 2031. 

The estimated capex includes costs related to transformers, land, buildings, control houses, reactive compensation equipment and connection modules, among other items. 

Some 14.2bn reais (46%) are related to substations already granted authorization by regulator Aneel, while 16.6bn reais (54%) involve assets that have not yet been given the green light by the watchdog.

Today, there are 772 substations in operation in Brazil, mainly located in the southeast and south regions. 

Franceli Jodas, a partner at consultancy KPMG, said the expansion of renewable energy sources – mostly PV solar and wind power in the northeast region – and distributed generation are changing Brazil’s power grid. 

“We’ll have a more diversified and decentralized matrix, because we have depended a lot on hydroelectric plants, whose generation is more centralized and easier to be managed by the national grid operator,” Jodas told BNamericas. 

Meanwhile, the mandatory contracting of 8GW of natural gas-fired plants foreseen in federal power holding Eletrobras’ privatization bill will be an additional challenge for the country’s transmission system, since the location of the plants will only be known at the moment they are hired. 

“There will be an increasing demand for more substations and technologies in these substations and in the grid in general so that we can manage more efficiently all the energy produced in the large generation centers in Brazil,” Jodas said. 

She added that energy storage solutions and the deployment of multi-terminal systems, which allow the transfer of energy from several generation points to a single, high load center, could contribute to the flexibilization of the electric power grid. 

Brazil will hold two power transmission auctions in 2023, which could generate investments of 50bn reais, according to EPE.