Journey · demand / large load
Connect a large load — data center, mining, BESS
Data: July 23, 2026 · ONS — access/PNAST; ANEEL — storage
An AI data center, bitcoin miner and BESS are not just business or energy-price decisions. To the grid, they are large loads: they draw power from the system and require a connection point, electrical study and use agreement when they access transmission. This is the other side of the same coin as connecting large-scale generation.
The grid sees demand
In transmission, the ONS (Brazil's national system operator) access process enables connection to and use of transmission facilities, with open access when technically feasible. PNAST handles generator and consumer access to the Rede Básica ("Basic Grid") in seasons. For a load, the question is no longer “where can generation be exported?” but “where can the grid serve consumption without violating electrical criteria?”.
Official sources: ONS — Acesso and ONS — PNAST.
Start with the load, not the announcement
Each thesis calls for different screening. A data center needs location, status and source. Mining needs energy cost, scale and hashrate assumptions. BESS requires charging mode to be separated from discharging mode.
Product · demand
Data centers
Map and ranking of AI and hyperscale data centers, with location, status and source for each item.
Product · bitcoin
Mine BTC
Calculator comparing mining bitcoin with buying it, with open assumptions and a clear notice that it is not a live quote.
Product · location
Where to mine
Ranking of mining regions by energy cost and reweightable criteria, without filling gaps when a source is missing.
Product · storage
BESS
Utility-scale battery screening workbench: revenue, arbitrage and siting with stated assumptions.
Then come access, study and cost
The same corridor that serves generation also limits load. The fila de acesso ("connection queue") says what has a source and date; the study tests the point in the electrical model; the cost separates CAPEX, grid use and assumptions.
Product · data
Fila de conexão
Rede de Operação substations, TUST (transmission-system usage tariff), registrations and access milestones with the source document.
Product · study
Matt
Power flow, N-1 contingency analysis and grid editing using the model you provide.
Product · costs
Capex ANEEL
ANEEL (Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency) breakdown of power-plant and recurring costs where a source exists, with assumptions marked when no official data are available.
Tool · mirror
Connect to the Rede Básica
The generation export map helps explain the other side of the same grid; it does not replace the load study.
Opinion and agreements
For use of the Rede Básica, the Parecer de Acesso ("Access Opinion") consolidates the technical access assessment and is a condition for contracting transmission use. For storage, the arrangement matters: when a system is co-located with a power plant, ANEEL documentation includes use agreements and a parecer de acesso or equivalent document when applicable.
- ONS — Contratações / CUST (transmission system use agreement) — agreement and link to the Parecer de Acesso.
- ANEEL — Sistemas de armazenamento com centrais geradoras — regulatory documents for co-located SAE (electrical energy storage system).
Frequently asked questions
- How do I connect a data center to the power grid?
- The first step is to treat the data center as a large electrical load: define the connection point, consumption profile and redundancy requirement. When access is to the transmission system, the formal request goes through ONS via SGAcesso, with the data and studies required to assess technical feasibility.
- Does a bitcoin miner need a parecer de acesso?
- If the operation is a load connected directly to the Rede Básica or to transmission facilities, access depends on the formal process applicable to the access-seeking party and on the Parecer de Acesso. Smaller operations connected to distribution follow the utility's process; the economic activity of mining does not replace the electrical rule for the connection point.
- Does BESS connect as load or generation?
- Electrically, BESS consumes energy when charging and may inject energy when discharging. The connection must model both directions when they exist in the project's arrangement, in addition to the applicable authorizations, use agreements and opinions.
- Does the generation export margin show whether a load will fit?
- Not by itself. The generation margin helps explain the opposite side of the grid, but load changes power flow, voltage, loading and contingencies differently. The decision requires the connection queue, an electrical study at the point and the connection cost.