Recording of Tuesday, May 06, 2025 | The smarter E Europe Conferences 2025 | Conference Program | Language: English | Duration: 9:22 .

Elenia's Strategic Investments and Challenges in Strengthening Finland's Electrical Infrastructure

Harri Salomäki from Elenia, Finland's second-largest Distribution System Operator (DSO), discusses the challenges and strategies in upgrading Finland’s electrical infrastructure. With 77 DSOs in the country, Elenia holds a significant market share of about 12%. Following severe weather events in 2011 that left many areas without power for extended periods, Finnish legislation mandated improvements to ensure no more than six hours of outage in urban areas by 2036. This prompted substantial investments totaling over €1.6 million since 2012 to modernize old overhead lines with underground solutions—raising their coverage from 23% to nearly complete regional reliability at around 90%. Despite these efforts, further investment is needed due to increasing global demands and technological advancements like smart meters and GIS systems. The company faces social challenges as customers need better communication on why such upgrades are necessary for both local resilience and broader security concerns amid geopolitical tensions involving Ukraine and Sweden. Harri emphasizes collaboration among stakeholders while addressing workforce aging issues within this rapidly evolving sector.

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Speaker

Harri Salomäki
Head of Asset Management and Partnerships
Elenia
Finland

Talk of session: Developing the Future Distribution Grid

The global energy landscape is changing rapidly as demand for electricity increases and distributed generation becomes more widespread. In their efforts to modernize and expand an already aging power grid, utilities and grid operators face significant obstacles and challenges in maintaining system stability and resilience. In addition, shortages of skilled labor and materials are slowing infrastructure development. Addressing these issues requires technological innovation, policy reforms, and collaboration across the energy industry. The session will explore how to create a power system that is not only reliable and secure but also flexible enough to adapt the changing energy landscape.

Further Talks of this session:

Welcome and Introduction

Speaker

Carmen Gimeno
Secretary General
GEODE
Belgium

Recording of presentation not authorized for publication.

The Energy Transition - Challenges for Grid Operators

Speaker

Luís Vale Cunha
Chairman
ETIP SNET
Portugal

To Talk

Bringing Flexibility to the System - Local Flexibility Markets

Speaker

Rune Hogga
Head of Flexibility
A Energi
Norway

To Talk

Grid Management Optimization - New Technology Solutions

Speaker

Mark Nigge-Uricher
Senior Business Developer
Alliander N.V.
The Netherlands

To Talk

Unlocking Flexibility - Bridging the Gap Between Flexibility Demand and Supply for Grid Stability

Speaker

Maddalena Pondini
Sustainability Advisory Expert
Siemens AG
Germany

Recording of presentation not authorized for publication.

Panel Discussion

To Talk

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