Eletrobras and Dam Safety
All dams used in electricity generation by the Eletrobras companies have Dam Safety Plans (PSB), provided to the competent agencies in compliance with the current legislation.
Eletrobras companies adopt the best practices related to the safety of dams in electricity generation and are considered national and international references in this area, especially Itaipu Binacional, which played a decisive role in the creation of the
Law No. 12,334/2010 (National Dam Safety Policy).
In order to ensure the integrity of their power plants, Eletrobras companies also take part in technical discussions involving dam safety and maintain important non-governmental organizations in this sector, such as the Brazilian Dam Committee (CBDB) and the International Commission on Large Dams (Icold).
All of these actions come to reinforce the importance of dam safety in Eletrobras companies and restate the historic commitment of providing good services to the population, supported by a corporate culture increasingly focused on designing, building and operating dams for the generation of electricity in a safe, socially and environmentally responsible way for the development of Brazil.
Check out, on the map below, all the hydroelectric projects of the Eletrobras companies and their installed electricity generation capacities:
HYDROELECTRIC POWER GENERATION
Total: 35,574 MW
Ref.: Eletrobras Quarterly Reports 1Q 2019.
Legislation
Eletrobras companies are in compliance with the current legislation, especially the National Dam Safety Policy (PSNB), and with the recommendations of the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (Aneel). PSNB policy was established by Law No. 12,334/2010 in order to ensure that dam safety standards are followed to reduce the possibility of accidents and their consequences, besides regulating safety actions and standards.
Eletrobras companies are in compliance with the legal requirements related to dam safety, in accordance with Law No. 12,334/2010, and the updated versions Dam Safety Plans (PSB) and Emergency Action Plans (PAE) currently in force. Considering the importance assigned by Eletrobras to this subject, the Subcommittee on Dam and Structural and Civil Safety was established, which holds periodical meetings to address dam safety issues among group companies. The subcommittee consists of representatives of all Eletrobras companies.
Law No. 12,334/2010 - National Dam Safety Policy
Law
12,334/2010 establishes the National Dam Safety Policy, which is intended for the dams that hold water for any given use, the final or temporary disposal of tailings and the accumulation of industrial waste, and determines the establishment of the National Dam Safety Information System.
The law holds entrepreneurs and their assigned technical managers liable for dam safety and for the development and and implementation of the Dam Safety Plan (PSB).
Aneel Resolution 696/2015:
In the case of projects that have a predominant use of hydroelectric power generation, the following Aneel recommendations must be observed.
The Aneel Resolution
696/2015 establishes the criteria for classification, preparation of the Dam Safety Plan (PSB) and execution of the Dam Safety Periodic Review (RPSB) for structures that are supervised by the agency, in accordance with Law 12,334/2010.
Technical Materials
This section provides technical materials such as videos, summaries and links to technical articles published by professionals of Eletrobras companies and by organizations that are related to the subject.
video_barragens.jpg Video: Importance of Dams (Portuguese/English) - Brazilian Dam Committee (CDBD)
Entrepreneur Manuals on Dam Safety by the Brazilian National Water Agency (ANA)
ANA provides a set of eight manuals with useful guidelines for dam entrepreneurs, which establish general recommendations regarding the methodologies and procedures to be adopted by the entrepreneurs, in order to ensure the proper safety conditions for dams in the various phases of the life cycle of such structures.
The eight manuals can be accessed through the following link:
http://www.snisb.gov.br/portal/snisb/downloads/publicacoes/ManualEmpreendedor
Eletrobras Manuals:
Check here the respective links and descriptions for the available manuals
Note: The procedures, studies and measurements for obtaining or being granted with environmental permits that are necessary for the implementation of the projects are not considered in the manual, as well as the procedures for the management of the works or enterprises that rule the construction.
Brazilian Journal of Dam Engineering (Revista Brasileira de Engenharia de Barragens)
Journal with regular publications, available for free at the following address:
http://www.cbdb.org.br/6-142/Revista%20Brasileira%20de%20Engenharia%20de%20Barragens
Common questions
1 - How is the operation of Eletrobras' corporate hydroelectric plants performed?
Eletrobras does not have generation assets. The operation of corporate hydroelectric power plants is performed through its subsidiaries Amazonas GT, Chesf, Eletrosul, Eletronorte, Furnas and Itaipu.
2 - How many hydroelectric dams does the company currently control and which is the largest one?
There are 33 corporate hydroelectric plants. The largest one is Tucuruí (8,535 MW).
3 - Is there a specific area for inspection and monitoring of structures?
Yes, there is. The characteristics of the areas depend on the company and the geographical distribution of its assets.
4 - How many technicians take care of the structural inspection and monitoring tasks?
We comply with the current legislation: power plants have teams dimensioned according to the size of each plant, always counting on the responsible technician.
5 - What is the level of automation of the monitoring system, i.e.: what data can be remotely tracked and which readings need to be taken locally and how often?
It depends on each power plant. The level of automation does not necessarily reflect the dam safety conditions. The level of automation often depends on the age of the plant, the technological choice of instrumentation and the availability of labor.
6 - What are the procedure and safety standards followed by the company?
Eletrobras companies have a dam safety control protocol, which includes regular inspections and corrective and preventive maintenance.
Dam Safety actions include periodic inspections of power plants, complemented by an evaluation of the behavior of the structures by means of the record analysis of instrumentation installed in them. These procedures are consolidated in Technical Reports (RITs), with frequencies that are compatible with the characteristics of each enterprise.
7 - In regards to the emergency plan considering the technical staff, are there simulations performed for teams to know how to act in case of a real accident?
Yes. There are protocols related to work safety (risk map, Internal Accident Prevention Commissions, etc.) and there are actions provided for in Emergency Action Plans (PAE). The PAE of each plant covers the internal training actions to be promoted by the entrepreneur. We emphasize disclosure seminars and the presentation of the plan on the facilities, the crisis management simulation related to a desk exercises and the test simulations.
8 - What are the general measures, from the point of view of power plant operation, in case of an accident?
We have had no accidents so far with dams of the Eletrobras Group. However, the measures to be taken, from the point of view of plant operation, are defined in the Emergency Action Plans (PAE) and it lists all the agencies involved in the crisis committee, establishing the actions and responsible persons, as well as the preventive and corrective procedures and measures to be adopted in an emergency case.
9 - In regards to the communities that live in the surroundings of company's dams, is there an estimate of the total population that lives in potential risk areas?
Emergency Action Plans (PAE) of each plant provide an estimate of the impacted populations based on the area potentially affected and the census data of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
All Eletrobras companies are in compliance with the current legislation, presenting the Dam Safety Plans (PSB) and completed Emergency Action Plans (PAE), as well as the Emergency Action Plans (PAE) filed with the respective local government entities.
10 - In case of an accident, what are the measures to be taken?
The implementation phase of the Emergency Action Plans (PAE) involves actions and goes through several stages, involving the disclosure and detailing of the PAE together with the Civil Defenses of the municipalities involved, with the participation of the state Civil Defenses, for the purpose of preparation of the Contingency Plans by these institutions.
It is worth highlighting the importance of the participation of the Civil Defense, since this institution has more experience to define which warning is the most efficient for each situation.
The PAE plan provides notifications for all the agencies mentioned above (Civil Defense, Fire Brigade, Police, etc.) but this detailing is made in the contingency plans of the municipalities.
11 - What is the amount of financial resources that the company annually invests to maintain its security systems and emergency plans in operational conditions for the population?
The investment to maintain the security system of each enterprise is distributed among the various corporate bodies that work directly and indirectly with security actions. The dam safety culture is present in the design, construction and operation stages of assets.
12 - What is the importance of safety inspections performed on dams, what are the main types of inspections and their frequency?
Inspections are essential for assessing the status of each dam, since they make it possible to identify any renovation or recovery needs in advance. The main types of inspections are: routine or informal, periodic, formal, special or emergency inspections. There are also inspections conducted by regulatory and supervisory agencies as well as inspections by external agents.
The frequency of the regular inspection will take place according to the risk and potential damage classification of the dam. The inspections must be performed by the entrepreneur during the inspection cycles.
13 - What is the Dam Safety Plan (PSB)?
The PSB is an instrument of the National Dam Safety Policy (PNSB), provided for in art. 6, item II, of Law No. 12,334/2010, and implementation by the entrepreneur is mandatory (dam under the scope of the law), which purpose is to assist him in safety management. It must contain technical data of the dam, construction, operation, maintenance and overview of the current safety status by means of the inspections performed.
14 - What is the Emergency Action Plan (PAE)?
This is a document that must contain the entire dam general information as it will be distributed to the competent authorities. Its content must cover: identification and analysis of possible emergency situations; procedures for the identification and reporting of dam failure or potential dam breaking conditions; preventive and corrective procedures to be adopted in emergency situations, indicating the person responsible for the action; strategy and means of dissemination and warning to potentially affected communities in emergency situations (art. 12 of Law No. 12,334/2010). The document also defines the Self-Rescue Zone (ZAS), that is, the region downstream of the dam where it is considered that there may be not enough time for intervention by the competent authorities in the event of an accident.
The PAE is a document that must be adapted to the life cycle of the work, the operating circumstances and safety conditions. Therefore, it is a dated document that must be periodically reviewed, whenever there is a change in the data of the intervening parties, and also following the performance of test exercises or the occurrence of emergency situations that justify their change.
15 - How is the Aneel's inspection routine conducted?
The regulatory agency supervises the enterprises whenever deemed necessary.
Regular safety inspections shall be carried out according to the classification and whenever the dam safety level is changed, observing the limit frequency as indicated below (Requirement of RN 696/2015).
Contact
For more information about the topic or about Eletrobras companies, please, send an email to
comunicacao@eletrobras.com.
