The site visit to Operador Nacional do Sistema (ONS) was in my opinion one of the best experiences in the field course. ONS is a national organization that decides every day how much energy will be generated by each hydropower and thermopower plants. This decision is based on the results of an optimization model that aims to minimize the energy generation costs and, consequently, maximize the hydropower dispatch as reliable as possible.
So far, I think that this visit was the most remarkable. I've been working in an undergraduate research position since 2011 within a project that aims to develop a new programming model to optimize the hydropower dispatch. I've studied a lot about the ONS and how the decisions are made. Therefore, the opportunity to finally be there, visit the operation center and ask questions was really important to me. Now I feel that my research, expected to finish next February, is almost complete!
