Valkeakosken Energia Oy has built a digital twin of its entire electric network with a network information system Trimble NIS. Valkeakoski is a medium-sized city in Finland, and its energy utility has taken a phased approach to the implementation of Trimble's software solution.
The energy utility and Trimble began collaborating in 1999. The customer and software provider have really learned to know each other over almost two decades. Olli Oksala, a planner at Valkeakosken Energia, is happy with the way they have worked together: “In my opinion, Trimble is an exceptional software provider. They take care of their customers over the long term, even after the solution has been delivered.”
Over the years, Trimble has become very familiar with the utility’s electric network. “They know how to identify the customer’s needs,” says Oksala. “Trimble’s consultants regularly visit us in Valkeakoski, and it has become easy to contact them, whatever the issue.”
Maximum benefit
Valkeakosken Energia operates in Valkeakoski, a city with 21,500 residents. The utility has over 12,500 customers. “We are constantly developing our operations within the boundaries set by our resources,” says Oksala of the utility's operating policies.
“We deploy applications suitable for energy companies of our size in a controlled way. We also ensure that we make maximum use of the software.”
In Valkeakoski, this means participating in training to guarantee that the employees know how to make the most of the software. But Oksala is also grateful for the advice and training provided by Trimble’s consultants when ever needed.
“Also the customer support staff is very professional,” he adds.
Customer-oriented energy utility
At the turn of the millennium, Valkeakosken Energia decided to acquire a new network information system because the old system was reaching the end of its life cycle. Trimble was selected as the software provider. The first application was designed for managing land-use agreements.
When the software was implemented, the utility decided to prioritize documentation of attribute information. Today, the standard of documentation is very good, which facilitates work processes and reporting to the authorities. The network information system can provide information about the condition and age of all of the objects the authorities inquire about.
Valkeakosken Energia has built a digital twin of its entire electric network with Trimble NIS, and the utility uses applications for e.g. asset maintenance, network construction, and network calculations.
Trimble DMS, a distribution management system, is also in use. The system offers tools for maintaining and monitoring the switching state of distribution network and for outage management.
Outage communication tools guarantee better customer service in an outage situation and enable compliance with official regulations. Customer communications in an outage is handled using text messages, e-mails, and an online outage map.
“Messages are sent automatically within a few minutes of an outage occurring. Trimble DMS initiates the process, but we use a third-party application to send the messages,” Oksala says.
The outage communication tools also enable sending messages manually. For example, the customers will be informed as soon as the utility knows when the problem will be fixed and power restored. It is also possible to provide information about planned outages to the customers who will be affected.
Reconstruction plans based on facts
Valkeakosken Energia wants to base their reconstruction plans on facts. The Power System Analysis (PSA) application helps with this by enabling checking the technical dimensioning of the existing, new, and planned electric network.
“When we are studying the need for network reconstruction, we make use of the results of PSA and information related to the mechanical condition and age of the network,” Oksala says. He adds that the system also provides a cost estimate for the plan.
In addition, the City of Valkeakoski’s street light network is on Trimble NIS. Valkekosken Energia collaborates with the city by maintaining information related to the structure, servicing, and maintenance of the street light network.
Software development serves all users
Much has been done over the years, but the software solution that is in use in Valkeakoski is still not complete, and will continue to be expanded in a controlled way.
The energy sector is regulated, and utilities in the sector are required to prepare a number of reports for the authorities.
Power outages caused by storms have contributed to an increase in regulation in recent years, as well as the maximum generation permitted for an electric network. For this reason, Valkeakosken Energia has decided to focus on using Trimble to develop automation that will generate reports for the authorities. The development of Trimble NIS will continue in cooperation with customers. Kimmo Höynälä, a Consultant from Trimble, says that by listening to customers, the company can get to know each customer’s individual needs.
“It is in the interests of customers of all sizes that we have software development projects. All our customers can implement the new functionality when it suits their schedule,” Höynälä says.
Oksala is also happy with the development work: “I believe that Trimble has its finger on the pulse. They know what is needed out in the field and they listen to their customers. I believe that software development serves all users.”
