VSV works proactively with their grid together with dLab

VSV has 3,900 km of electricity networks and 25,000 customers in western Finland and aspires to improve security of supply through proactive maintenance, adding smart grid equipment and increase the usage of under-ground cables. dLab has been part of this exciting journey for one year, and these are some highlights.

dLab’s product dInsight Analytics Platform provides a single source of truth for grid disturbances, power quality issues and capacity issues in the distribution grid. It is based on unique patented algorithms analysing deviations and disturbances from a primary substation perspective. Harnessing this data, grid operators can make faster fault detection, adopt a proactive maintenance process, take more effective investment decisions, and use it as an efficient tool for grid planning overall.

Throughout the year, VSV and dLab have had monthly meetings as part of a program with the intention to transfer knowledge from dLab to VSV in how to utilize smart grid analytics. The program provides access to expert assistance from dLab through an agreed program.

With the help of dLab’s products, VSV have been able to identify and work proactively with their grid. With the use of dAnalyzer and dQuality the data collected are automatically analysed, categorized, and prioritized. Results are reported in an easy-to-use format via a web-based interface, both with details and in plain language with key values.

The benefits are multitude and tangible, and to mention a few that VSV has experienced:

• A clarified connection between power quality issues and other grid disturbances

• Possibility to locate feeders suffering from recurrent disturbances, and act before an outage

• Provided information enabling calculation of distance to short circuit

• Efficient fault investigation of complex disturbances

• Weekly power quality reports clearly pin-pointing compliance with statutory requirements

• Second opinion on relay protection functionality. dLabs analysis has identified when relay protections have not acted correctly enabling VSV to take corrective actions

The week before Christmas eve 2021, a transient earth fault occurred in one of the feeders in the Ketunkallio station. The time between the transients was very short, 2 ms, which resulted in a trip in a substation further out on the line. Unfortunately, the transients also led to a trip in another substation fed by an adjacent feeder in Ketunkallio. The trip occurred due to an incorrect determination of the incident as an earth fault by the protection relays in that other substation. However, dLab could instantly automatically analyze the whole process and verify which feeder that was faulty and that the second trip was erroneous. All details clearly described in the auto generated report and of great help to VSV.

“We think dLab is a very good system that provides something new. Over the year we have been able to get a much better insight into how our grid function underneath so to speak. In addition to all the technical benefits, we were able to use it to ensure, for example, that our power distribution met the quality standard and to see any deviations accurately through dLab’s quality analysis. This is how we know about possible voltage dips in our network.”, says Juho Jussila, Network manager VSV.