Case Study: UTE maintains power to key Uruguayan cities with Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories' remedial action scheme

Protecting Uruguay’s 500 kV System

UTE, Uruguay’s national electric utility, faced winter power supply challenges as lower hydroelectric generation and high demand pushed its 500 kV transmission system close to operating limits. To reduce the risk of instability and a nationwide blackout, UTE worked with Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) on a modernization project for transmission protection, including a remedial action scheme (RAS) and phasor measurement units (PMUs).

SEL designed and installed a fast-acting RAS that can shed loads in subcycle times to prevent overloads and cascading outages, while also monitoring voltage, reactive power flow, and compensation factors to improve power quality and reduce losses. As a result, UTE can now reliably shed loads during winter and continue supplying key cities like Montevideo, supporting future network growth and service quality improvements.

UTE

Gonzalo Casaravilla

Chairman of the Board