vol. 3 núm. 1 (2022): transactions on energy systems and engineering applications

The industrialization and urbanization are responsible for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and could generate energy shortage problems. The application of Demand Response (DR) programs enables the user to be empowered towards a conscious consumption of energy, allowing the reduction or displacement of the demand for electrical energy, contributing to the sustainable development of the sector and the operational efficiency of the electrical system, among others. A reference framework for this type of program is detailed along with a literature survey applied to the Colombian case. The considerations on the design of a methodology to the implementation of the DR pilot, considering if the pilot is in an interconnected system zone or non-interconnected system zone and the application of the design methodology in the modeling of three DR pilots in Colombia is presented. For the modeling of the pilots, the characteristics of the area and the base consumption of the users are considered, and the characteristics and assumptions of the pilot are also defined. Furthermore, the DR pilot in each zone considering four types of users is detailed. The results show the potential for energy reduction and displacement in different time bands for each zone, which allows determining the assessment of the benefits from a technical, financial, and environmental point of view, and the costs of each pilot in monetary terms, it not to compare the pilots with each other, but to illustrate the values that must be taken into account in those analyses. The sensitivity analysis of each pilot was also carried out, considering the variation of the benefit/cost relationship with the energy rate in peak hours vs. off-peak hours and the base energy rate in the area. The sensitivity analysis shows that, when varying the level of energy demand response and the number of pilot participants, the values are presented when the benefit/cost ratio is greater than 1. In addition, the paper provides specific recommendations related to the design of a methodology and the implementation in a pilot DR using simulation.

The study of the degradation of power transformers in the electrical network has become a subject of relevant analysis by network operators and companies, associated with the probability of failures and operation quality. For this reason this paper firstly presents the classification of a set of 12 Asset Management models related to power transformers monitoring and, then, the application of three of them in three substations of the National Laboratory of Smart Grids (LAB+i) located at Bogot´a Campus of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. As a result, the main challenges were identified concerning the Asset Management application in transformer fleets related to data availability and precision. Finally, it was identified that the development of an Asset Management model that uses non-invasive real-time measurements is needed for continuous monitoring of power systems and diagnosis.

In this paper is presented a model to assess shunt power capacitor banks. The model seeks to support decision making by optimizing incomes and considering risk. Hence, to model incomes the revenue, maintenance cost, electrical losses, dismantling cost and risk are considered. The risk is monetized as a critical cost times probability of failure. Probability of failure is estimated using shunt bank degradation. To assess the model, the data of an operating shunt bank was used and the Colombian regulation was assumed for financial values. As a result, different maintenance strategies was evaluated in order to know the optimum one.