Tornionlaakson Sähköverkko is a regional electricity distribution company serving customers in Northern Finland. Responsible for ensuring reliable power delivery across a vast and often remote area, the utility places a strong emphasis on proactive maintenance and fault prevention. In their ongoing effort to improve grid reliability and efficiency, the company uses Safegrid’s Intelligent Grid System®.
Tornionlaakson Sähköverkko leveraged Safegrid’s solution to assess and validate potential faults in their medium-voltage network. The results offered strong confirmation of Safegrid’s value in identifying early-stage issues that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Following Safegrid’s detection of partial discharge (PD) signals at several locations, Tornionlaakson Sähköverkko carried out field inspections to investigate the marked sites. In one clear case, a binding wire of a conductor had detached and made contact with an metallic insulator pin—representing a definite fault that had not yet triggered any protective relays, even though the insulator remained intact. Additional observations included potential insulator damage at two other locations, and one loose binding wire that, while not yet in contact with any component, may represent an early-stage structural issue.
All detected anomalies were related to insulator structures. The PD signals seen through Safegrid’s Smart Fault Prediction™ solution appeared consistent with genuine partial discharges. Furthermore, the locations identified by the system aligned closely with findings from manual inspections.
“Safegrid’s solution has certainly been helpful—our first impressions of the system are good. We reviewed the PD signals in the Smart Fault Prediction™ view, and they appear to be genuine partial discharges. Both locations matched our manual inspection results, which gives us confidence in the system’s accuracy,” — Henri Vihriälä, Operations Manager, Tornionlaakson Sähköverkko
Results:
- Early warning of multiple insulator-related issues, allowing for proactive field inspections and targeted maintenance .
- PD signal locations matched manual inspection findings, validating Safegrid’s accuracy and reliability.
- Increased confidence in grid monitoring capabilities, especially for faults not visible through traditional inspection methods
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This collaboration highlights the role of intelligent monitoring in modern grid operations. By providing early warning of developing faults and improving visibility across the grid, Safegrid helps utilities like Tornionlaakson Sähköverkko proactively maintain grid reliability and safety—ensuring efficient service and reduced risk of outages.
