Hydrometeorological System for Seasonal Streamflow Forecasting at Brazilian Hydro Power Enterprises

Abstract

<p>The Electric Energy Company of Parana (COPEL GeT), the Meteorological System of Parana (SIMEPAR) and RHAMA Consulting company are undertaking the research project PD-6491-0503/2018 for the development of a hydrometeorological seasonal forecasting for Brazilian reservoirs. The project, sponsored by the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL) under its research and development programme, aims the forecasting of streamflow, at temporal scales ranging from 1 to 270 days, at hydro power enterprises, which are integrated by the National Power System Operator (ONS) through its Interconnected System (SIN). We present in this work the framework built up as interface to the results of this project, which integrate shapefiles of main river basins in Brazil, hydro meteorological information, forecasts of precipitation from seasonal models (e.g., ECMWF’s SEAS5) and derived streamflow from hydrological model used in the project (MGB-SA mainly) for the entire electric energy network of the country. The platform encompasses layers of maps and graphics synchronized by date, respectively to locations of hydro power plants in Brazil, which allows users to perform multiple analysis for either energy planning or routine hydraulic operations. We shall demonstrate examples of applications, such analysis of a flood event happened during the 2014/2015 El Niño episode, which caused heavy precipitation, increased river level and flow into reservoirs in the Iguaçu River basin, disruption of services and economic losses in the South of Brazil. Given the limitations of seasonal precipitation forecasting, the model was successful in predicting the heavy accumulated rainfall in the analyzed period. In parallel, the hydrological model was able to simulate flow peaks well in advance. In addition, the platform allows an overview of the SIN subsystems and respective stored energy, which allows intercomparison and pragmatic analysis of the country's electric energy capacity.</p>