Power R&D: more watts, but less to pay

Thousands of kilometers separate the hydroelectric sources on the Amazon from main load centers far to the south. If Brazil is to transmit many megawatts of power over such distances, it must develop technology that is more efficient and less costly than what is in use today. For this and other pressing needs in the power field, the country's federally owned holding company in charge of power generation and transmission, Electrobras, turns to the country's leading power R&D center, Cepel. Both organizations are based in Rio de Janeiro. This paper details four of Cepel's many projects which are of particularly broad interest. One is an optimized design of conductor bundles for AC transmission lines, Another is a test station for DC equipment up to 800 kV. Then there is software for the stability analysis of large transmission systems, which may involve thousands of buses and branches. Fourth and last, an inexpensive electronic ampere-hour meter is being developed for customers with low incomes, who seldom use more than 100 kWh per month.