Low cost self-healing applied to distribution grid supplying Brazilian municipalities

Companies distributing electricity in the world have sought to enhance the operation of their networks in order to minimize the impact of supply disruptions. Nowadays, with the rise of the Smart Grid concept, the insertion of sophisticated features in the distribution of electric energy has become a reality. This article aims to describe the current situation of the implementation of smart grids by distribution companies in Brazil and the challenges especially regarding the economic viability of this technology for practical deployment. For this sake, this paper proposes the development of a low cost methodology that provides improvements in supplying power to municipalities of a Brazilian electricity company (CEMIG D), building the smart grid through the application of the concept of self-healing.