Powergrid digitalization with Exeri SGS

Our society is undergoing revolutionary changes. A pressurized climate has led to new innovations and technical standards to cope with the green transition. Increasingly digitized and electrified, from industrial processes to the vehicles that roll along our roads. But the more dependent we become on electricity, the more secure the distribution also needs to be. 

A few years ago, Ellevio, one of the country's largest energy companies, launched its vision for the year 2030. Their goal is to halve both the number of power outages in the network and the duration of the outage itself. In order to succeed, they have started to implement several digital solutions that will reduce the manual work, for example, troubleshooting the grid and isolating the fault with disconnectors. 

- Ellevio wants to be the network company of the future and therefore we took an early holistic approach to our digitization journey. We have reviewed our internal processes and systems, as well as investigated how new technology tracks can give our electricity grid more smartness, says Stephan Stålered, Senior Network Strategist and former Rollout Manager for Vision 2030. 

An important part of shortening the time for interruptions is being able to quickly and precisely locate where on the cable or overhead line the fault occurred. In 2022, Ellevio signed a framework agreement with Exeri as a supplier of fault indicators for the overhead line network. During 2024, integrations with Ellevio's digital system and interface were carried out in a pilot project on Ekerö outside Stockholm. Exeri's line agents were mounted on selected poles along the overhead line and integrated with Ellevio's own digital systems and interfaces.

- With Exeri's solution, we get a position on the overhead line of where the error occurred with a precision of 50-100 meters. This means that our field technicians can go to the right place directly instead of having to troubleshoot several different areas. At the same time, our automated operating system reconnects the lines and within three minutes end customers should have their electricity back if they are not directly affected by the fault, says Stephan. 

Predictive maintenance in an autonomous network

But it is not only when it comes to detecting and positioning faults on overhead lines that Stephan believes that Exeri adds great value. The data collected can also help identify maintenance needs before an outage occurs.

- We have an analytics platform that handles all our network data and converts it into decision-making material for, for example, the planning of repair work. Our hope is to have a fully autonomous network in the future that can anticipate maintenance needs, plan necessary work and reconnect itself in the event of sudden interruptions. 

For Ellevio, the pilot project at Ekerö has become an important piece of the puzzle in the target picture when the digitization of the electricity network now continues in other locations. Exeri's solution for power grid monitoring has now begun to be installed in Vallentuna, Nynäshamn, among others. Particularly affected areas on the West Coast will also start shortly. By 2030, Stephan hopes that all of Ellevio's nearly one million customers will be able to take part in the digitized electricity network.

- We want to make value-driven investments and with Exeri we have a solution that creates value for the end customer with shorter interruption times and for ourselves specifically for the overhead line networks. We have received shorter decision-making paths in operations, while our technicians can reduce the time out in the field. I look forward to continuing to build the electricity grid of the future together with Exeri, concludes Stephan.