Aidon - Towards seamless workflow with Aidon’s open technology
The Finnish utility company Savon Voima Verkko is about to finalize their AMS-rollout. 10 000 of their total 70 000 Energy Service Devices delivered by Aidon have now been updated with an additional functionality: low voltage network monitoring. End-to-end workflows are thence becoming more seamless than ever before.
"Already in the planning phase of our AMS project we were looking into a solution which would deliver us added value on top of electricity consumption values for billing", says Matti Ryhänen, CEO of Savon Voima.
The utility company operates 25 000 km of power lines, a big part of that being overhead lines in large areas of rural residence. In forestry regions the lines are vulnerable to storms and heavy snow loads.
"Our mission is to guarantee a reliable electricity supply with minimum power-failures. Firstly, for the sake of customer service, and secondly, to minimize the compensations we are obliged to pay if the duration of failures exceed a given time limit", Ryhänen says.
Seamlessness ultimate target
The new remote update of Savon Voimas Energy Service Devices enables delivery of alerts for different types of incidents at the customer’s metering point and in the low voltage network.
Among others, blown fuses, 0-wire failures or breakdowns in low and medium voltage networks are reported to Savon Voima’s DMS-system.
Deviations in the consumers’ electricity usage are also reported. Instant information from faults shortens response times also at the customer service.
The faults can be geographically spotted on DMS and repair tasks assigned accordingly.
Furthermore, getting detailed information from users’ electricity consumption makes it possible to instruct them in balancing the loads between phases, or rationalizing their consumption, as complimentary customer consultancy.
If a tree falls over the medium voltage line, the breakage-point can thence be located on a map on transformer station level thanks to alerts from metering points that are affected because of missing voltage.
This speeds up the task of repairing. Yet, still it takes time and human efforts to process the information from one step to another until it reaches the service technician in the field.
After the pilot phase which covers 10 000 Energy Service Devices, also the remaining metering points will be updated for similar monitoring and alerting functionality.
Innovative partnerships
"Our ultimate target is a seamless automated end-to-end work process – from alerts to task assignment and repair", Ryhänen envisions.
Savon Voima is on good track to reach its target thanks to the advanced tools, which they are now integrating.
In addition to Aidon meters and ABB’s DMS-system, they include Tieto’s Grid Wise situational-awareness system with real-time geographical information, and Tieto’s PG Field electronic map application for mobile devices.
When the integration is ready, the system will automatically process alerts – including details of breakage locations and task descriptions – and deliver them to repair operators in the field.
"For decades, utilities have been used to repairing failures and maintaining the grid. This task will remain our responsibility, but bringing innovations together in close cooperation with our partners allows us to do it in a totally new, more efficient way", Ryhänen concludes.
Facts about Savon Voima Verkko
- Savon Voima Verkko provides electricity to 114000 customers in the Central-Eastern part of Finland.
- Their new AMS system consists of 70 000 Aidon Energy Service Devices and Aidon Gateware reading system. Meter reading service is provided by Enfo.
- Low voltage network monitoring feature is under roll-out. Among others, it alerts about faults on customers’ metering points, as well as on the low and medium voltage networks.
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