Eletrobras deploys C3 AI Grid Intelligence for grid resilience
Latin America’s largest power and utility provider, Eletrobras, is significantly expanding its adoption of artificial intelligence through a partnership with C3 AI, a leading enterprise AI software company. This collaboration aims to deploy C3 AI Grid Intelligence across Eletrobras’ extensive transmission network, fundamentally transforming real-time operations and accelerating the resilience of Brazil’s power infrastructure.
Following a successful pilot in 2024 that saw C3 AI Grid Intelligence implemented across 10 substations, Eletrobras is now scaling the solution to encompass all its transmission assets. This broad deployment is a cornerstone of the utility’s ambitious “Eletro.ia” program, an initiative dedicated to integrating AI at scale throughout the company. Beyond grid intelligence, Eletrobras is also leveraging C3 Generative AI to streamline its operational reporting, a move designed to free human operators from tedious administrative tasks, allowing them to focus on more critical, high-impact responsibilities.
The C3 AI Grid Intelligence application, built upon the robust C3 Agentic AI Platform, empowers operators with real-time contextual information, dramatically speeding up their response to faults and improving overall grid stability and regulatory compliance. Lucas Pinz, Director of Innovation and Technology at Eletrobras, emphasized the strategic importance of this rollout: “In 2024, Eletrobras launched a program called Eletro.ia with the goal of applying AI at scale across the entire company. Through this program, Eletrobras is leveraging cutting-edge AI and data solutions to unlock efficiencies across our network and better serve our customers throughout Brazil.”
A key driver for Eletrobras in selecting C3 AI was the latter’s proven ability to support a dynamic, real-time operations center with a platform ready for immediate use and solutions tailored to end-users. Pablo Flores, Executive Manager of Protection, Automation, and Control of Operation Systems at Eletrobras, highlighted this aspect, noting, “Eletrobras is modernizing critical network monitoring processes, allowing us to effectively and quickly respond to incidents to ensure grid stability and availability.”
The impact of this technological integration is particularly evident in how Eletrobras manages power outages. When disruptions occur, C3 AI Grid Intelligence rapidly identifies alarms, clusters related faults, pinpoints affected equipment and substations, and provides crucial decision-making intelligence to mitigate issues – all in less than 10 seconds. This represents a monumental leap forward, considering that such processes could previously take anywhere from several minutes to several hours to resolve.
As global energy systems grapple with escalating demand and increasing volatility, Eletrobras’ proactive embrace of AI serves as a powerful demonstration of how advanced technology can bolster resilience and reliability at scale. Thomas M. Siebel, Chairman and CEO of C3 AI, underscored the broader significance of this partnership, stating, “Global energy expansion and resilience remains a primary company focus for C3 AI. Our work with Eletrobras reinforces C3 AI’s position as the trusted Enterprise AI provider for critical infrastructure and highlights the power of our platform in delivering operational transformation across the global energy sector.” This collaboration showcases a pivotal step towards a more robust and responsive energy future, powered by intelligent systems.