AThe concept of strategic facilities covers power plants, substations and transmission trunks which, if turned off by electrical problems or destroyed / damaged for other reasons, the interruption of their services may lead to the occurrence of loss of large blocks of generation and even blackouts , causing great impact on society.
The identification of strategic installations allows adopting measures to:

• Prepare BIPS to meet the total / partial installation loss, caused by multiple contingencies, and analyze and propose possible improvements that will strengthen the intrinsic safety of installations.
• Allow the adoption of preventive and / or corrective measures when possible threats, to ensure continuity of services, even in crisis situations.

From the knowledge of strategic facilities, ONS, with the participation of the agents envolved, began in 2012 and continued throughout 2013 the following actions:

• Identification of the group of assisted substations.
• Improvement of environmental information on weather conditions (rain and direction of winds, lightning, air temperature, atmospheric pressure) and fires, available in control centers, to prepare BIPS for any multiple contingencies.
• Interaction with the planning area of expansion for the definition of reinforcements to minimize the consequences of certain multiple losses.
• Implementation of new Special Protection Systems (SEPs).
• Improved design of new SEPs to minimize accidental or incorrect performances.
• Adoption of more conservative criteria when maintenance services are performed in these facilities.
• Adoption of special criteria for the testing of black-start generating unit devices.

After the identification work carried out in 2012, the analysis of the conditions of the substations was developed in 2013 in order to identify possible changes to its intrinsic improvement, minimizing the consequences of large disturbances through actions that provide:

• Minimizing the risk of human error in the operation and maintenance.
• Providing protection, automation, control, monitoring and supervision in accordance with the Grid Procedures, which may be exceeded where the peculiarities of the facilities require.

To meet the stablished in the MME Ordinance No. 43 of 04 February 2013, a working group consisting of representatives of the MME, ANEEL, EPE, ONS and Cepel was created.

This group´s work has resulted in the strategic analysis of 115 substations, having being identified measures to improve the intrinsic safety as supplementary arrangement. It was subsequently agreed with MME the extension of analysis, considering the additional substations in the Southeast region (87 substations were analyzed, with proposals for improvements to 43); and additional substations in the North / Midwest (63 substations were analyzed, with proposals for improvements to 23). Work on the Northeast and South regions will be completed in 2014.