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Operational Efficiency
In 2017, Itaipu Binational's energy production was 96,387 gigawatts-hour (GWh), the fourth best year of the plant's production. The net energy generated was 95,682 GWh. From December to the first quarter of 2018, Itaipu has been registering a succession of good results.
The high performance has been a result of the combination of high demand in the Brazilian and Paraguayan markets, favorable hydrological conditions and better use of the water that arrives at the reservoir, as a result of coordinated actions of operation and maintenance of the plant. The synergy between these areas is what we have called "Dance with the Waters".
| [EU2] | Generated net energy, divided per source of primary energy | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Source: | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
| Hydraulic | 95,682 GWh | 102.335 GWh | 88.575 GWh |
[102-6] Markets share
The energy supply during fiscal year 2017 was 95,682 GWh. The Brazilian Power Plants SA - Eletrobras were supplied 82,228 GWh, serving 15% of the Brazilian market demand. For the National Electricity Administration (ANDE), 13,454 GWh were supplied, serving 86.4% of the Paraguayan market demand.
| [EU2] | Generated net energy, divided per source regulatory system | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric system: | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
| Brazilian | 82.228 GWh | 91.108 GWh | 77.939 GWh |
| Paraguayan | 13.454 GWh | 11.227 GWh | 10.636 GWh |
| [EU30] |
Average factor of availability of the plant’s generating units Number of hours of interruption: |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | |
| Planned* | 4.917 | 6.369 | 6.769 |
| Forced** | 167 | 128 | 126 |
| Average factor of availability | 97,10% | 96,30% | 96,06% |
An important index for obtaining an efficient result is the average availability factor, which measures the percentage of time during which the generating units have remained in operation or have been available for the production of energy.
In 2017, the best historical index was recorded, of 97.10%, fulfilling the established goal of obtaining a value equal to or greater than 94%.
[EU30] Operational Capacity Factor
98.09% above the average value of the five previous months
In recent years, Itaipu has shown a high level of efficiency. This index measures how much water has passed through the plant and has effectively been transformed into energy. The ratio between production and available energy is the Operational Capacity Factor (FCO), which in 1998 was 98.09%, above the average value of the previous five years (97.88%).
This demonstrates that the systems have maintained the capacity to absorb almost all the energy that Itaipu is able to produce, but it reinforces that there are still moments that greater operational flexibility could result in a greater absorption of this energy - as was the case in May and June of 2017, where there was greater volume of spilled energy. The limitation of absorption of Itaipu energy has been due to temporary unavailability in the transmission system and energy conditions in the National Interconnected System of Brazil.
The achievement of such high marks is complex and requires a lot of alignment between the internal areas, as well as a close coordination with external partners such as Eletrobras, Ande, ONS, Furnas and Copel.
Comparative
The energy generated by ITAIPU Hydroelectric Plant in 2017 would be sufficient to serve the entire world for 37 hours, Brazil for 63 days or Paraguay for 6 years. If this energy were generated by non-renewable sources, the emission of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO eq) would be:
- 39 million tons, if it were by gas plants;
- 68 million tons, if it were by oil plants; or
- 87 million tons if it were by coal plants.
Thermal equivalent of this generation per day: - 547 thousand Barrels of Equivalent Petroleum (beps) or 47.8 m3 of natural gas.
