Another important factor is the establishment of a policy that can stimulate the evolution of the sector in the medium and in the long term, and this is intrinsically linked to activities in which R&D is inserted. In a country eager to reach a satisfactory level of development, but still struggles in its mindset on the interaction between the various sectors involved, namely academia, industry and institutions focused on innovative enterprises, with or without intervention of government development agencies, it is essential to draw a path that can lead us to the desired level.

It is not just a matter of momentarily providing good service to society. Far beyond seeking to foresee the future to ensure the survival of the sector and thus the welfare of society, it is about breaking a paradigm, one that imposes on us the idea that Brazil is only, and always will be, an emerging country. This stigma seems to prevent us from turning over the page, from adopting a first-world attitude, from nurturing a line of thought whose premises are not to remain in the middle, but to achieve differentiation and to begin reaping the fruits reserved only to the so-called developed countries.

The attitude must therefore be aggressive, especially with regard to the relationship between competition and development. When analysing the world context, it becomes clear that development occurs naturally in environments where interest in differentiation is stimulated. By allowing players to reap good fruit from their innovative stance and from the creation of differentiated products and services, the new model for the electric sector will automatically ensure good service and high quality to society.

The innovative mind finds its motivation in the challenges, and the competition, as seen by the innovators, implies the conscience of constantly seeking the vanguard. For innovators, there is no rest. There is no level of lull. They know that any disruption of the status quo can make them lose the fruits of the achievements of the past. Thus, the challenge is always present, concretized in the need to be always ahead. Therefore, by stimulating competition, innovative entrepreneurs will be encouraged to produce what should be expected of them, which yet today goes unnoticed.

This issue brings three papers on relevant issues in the electric sector. The first deals with the issue of regulatory choices of distributed generation in the country, its perspectives and its opportunities. The second presents an alternative approach for the estimation of generalized state, using a more complete representation and tackling the resulting computational complexity through decoupling techniques. The third paper deals with the problem of corrosion in the anchorage of power transmission towers in aggressive environments, presenting important analytical results.

Espaço Energia will continue on its way fostering and disseminating scientific and technological advances in the area of energy. This role can only be played thanks to the participation of our illustrious editorial board, referees and, of course, authors of the published papers. We hope this issue brings important contributions to all readers.