Entry · Price
CVU: Unit variable cost
What value is assigned to each thermal plant in operation scheduling?
Acronyms: ONS, National Electric System Operator.
In one sentence
Value assigned to each thermal plant that the ONS considers in the Monthly Operation Program and in running the NEWAVE, DECOMP and DESSEM models. The source describes the CVU by its use; what makes up this cost was not checked.
Real example
In the operating week of Sep 26, 2026 to Oct 2, 2026 (PMO Outubro 2026), the CVU of the 52 natural gas plants ranged from R$ 0.00 to R$ 2,620.49/MWhNature of the data: Observed; the median among them was R$ 1,134.28/MWhNature of the data: Calculated. It is the value of each plant considered in the Monthly Operation Program, not the CMO or the PLD.
No Check this number record of its own in this example: the number comes from the panel's published database, which carries the source and the reference date.
Observed: Value published directly by the official or primary source. Calculated: Deterministic transformation made by Scrutiniums, with a published formula.
Why it matters
How it is measured
In R$/MWh, by thermal plant and portion, for each operating week of the Monthly Operation Program (Saturday to Friday), in the ONS dataset “CVU das Usinas Térmicas” (data dictionary version 2.0, of Sep 24, 2025). The observatory publishes the CVU of the current week by plant and the monthly median by fuel in the thermal dispatch panel of Generation.
Unit: R$/MWh, by plant and operating week
Not to be confused with
The CVU is a value of each thermal plant, considered in the Monthly Operation Program and in the models; the CMO is the cost of meeting one more unit of load, by subsystem. A plant's CVU is neither the CMO nor the PLD.
What cannot be concluded
- It is the value considered in the Monthly Operation Program for the week: the dataset does not report the actual cost or the fuel price.
- What makes up this cost was not checked.
Related entries
In the learning paths
Official source
ONSOpen data portal, dataset “CVU das Usina Térmicas” (description and data dictionary)
Literal excerpt from the document
Portuguese only“Custo Variável Unitário (CVU) de usinas térmicas considerado no Programa Mensal da Operação, conforme utilizado na execução do modelo NEWAVE, DECOMP, DESSEM, além de seu uso nas decisões de programação e acompanhamentos dos custos da operação.”
Documents accessed and text checked on Sep 28, 2026; text revised on Oct 6, 2026.