Evaluation Methodology to Implement the White Tariff and Distributed Generation for Low-Voltage Rural Consumers

Low-voltage (LV) consumers are considered the main cause of loading the electrical systems during peak hours, hence increasing the expansion costs of the distribution system. To stimulate the efficient use of Brazilian electricity, the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) established a new tariff modality for low-voltage consumers, known as White Tariff, effective in Brazil since January 2018. The White Tariff is an hourly rate with three different time schedules throughout a day. In addition to this new tariff modality, ANEEL established the conditions for access to distributed micro-generation and mini-generation since 2012 through the Normative Resolutions No. 482 and No. 687 as a way of encouragement of the inclusion of distributed generation (DG) for the low-voltage consumers. In this sense, this article aims to present a methodology to analyze the implementation of the white tariff for photovoltaic and biomass DG by rural LV consumers. The methodology consists of carrying out simulations using the hybrid optimization model for electric renewables software including combinations to consider energy tariffs from different local utilities, load profiles of rural consumers within different consumption ranges, natural resources and distributed generation technologies. From that, it is possible to conclude that the resulting simulations were more satisfactory for the white tariff together with the DG biomass for consumption within ranges from 501 to 1000 and 1001 to 5000 kWh.