Jaime Cepeda

"According to the National Population and Housing Census, 81% of the population is estimated to have electricity. The availability rate of electrical service in urban homes is 96%, as compared to 55% in rural homes, which has triggered the Ecuadorian government to want to improve the electrical grid, and convert it into a smart grid. For this purpose, the government hired Jaime Cepeda, who has held the position of Director of Research and Development at the National Center for Energy Control (CENACE) since 2013.

Cepeda is an expert in the development of computerized data analysis models. His mission at CENACE is to implement the Extended Area Monitoring System, that offers information in real-time relating to the dynamic behavior of the electrical grid and issues blackout warnings. Cepeda´s specialty is exactly this: developing computerized models capable of performing data analysis and detecting anomalies in time to intervene in the system and prevent its collapse. In order to convert the electric grid into a smart grid that offers real-time information about its behavior, it is necessary to first incorporate a network of customized devices which are connected via fiber optics to the central servers to send the data.

“It is complicated to obtain blackout statistics given that, due to the network design, they almost never happen”, says Cepeda. According to data provided by the Ecuadorian energy regulatory body, a two hour power outage generates a two million dollar in losses due to the failure to supply electricity during this time. Performing grid upgrades using conventional electrical technology would require an investment of between 100 and 200 million dollars, the young electrical engineer estimates. “It is more cost effective to invest in modern technology that upgrading the existing grid with supplementary networks”, he concludes."