Rovaniemi sits just below the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland, where winter shapes daily life and utility operations alike. As the city’s largest multi-utility, Neve Oy delivers electricity, district heating, water and fibre across a region where sub-zero temperatures last for weeks and demand patterns shift with weather and tourism. In this environment, reliability is not just a performance indicator but a public expectation. A single disruption can ripple quickly across homes, businesses and essential services, which is why Neve has steadily invested in modernising grid assets and strengthening the data foundation needed to operate confidently in harsh conditions.
The challenge: predict and prevent
Transformers are the quiet workhorses of any distribution network, yet small fluctuations in load, temperature or insulation health can develop into failure if they are not detected early. Neve’s engineers wanted a dependable way to spot issues before they became faults, to schedule maintenance with minimal customer impact, and to keep heat and power stable for thousands of residents. The goal was clear: use better insights to avoid unplanned downtime while improving the efficiency of day-to-day operations.
Predictive monitoring at the core
At Neve’s heat pump site in Rovaniemi, ABB delivered a transformer monitoring solution built around TRAFCOM – an intelligent sensor (developed in partnership with Oktogrid) that tracks transformer condition in real-time and provides early warnings of potential anomalies. Engineered to operate from -40°C to +85°C, TRAFCOM provides a full picture of transformer performance with insights that reduce waste and downtime, and support condition-based maintenance, which means maintenance happens when it is needed. Its anomaly detection and predictive alerts help the team intervene before failures occur, reducing manual inspections and extending the life of critical assets.
The site also includes UniGear ZS1 switchgear with REF620 protection relays, complemented by SWICOM (condition monitoring for switchgear) and UPScale ST80 to provide mechanical and electrical health status. Together, these elements form a practical layer of grid intelligence that strengthens everyday reliability without adding operational complexity.
Built on a long partnership
Neve’s collaboration with ABB is not new. In 2021, ABB supplied Kabeldon cabinets to help winterproof EV charging installations in the region, and in 2024 delivered new UniGear ZS1 Switchgear equipped with Relion REF620 protection relays alongside SWICOM to monitor the health of medium-voltage assets. The addition of TRAFCOM at the heat pump site builds on that foundation, turning operational data into decisions that keep assets dependable in harsh conditions. It is a practical example of powering partnerships where domain expertise and operational realities meet.
According to Tuomas Kokkonen, service sales specialist at ABB, “In Arctic environments, reliability starts with being able to see change the moment it happens. Predictive monitoring gives Neve the confidence to act early, protect critical assets and keep power and heat stable in conditions where resilience matters every hour of the day. Our role is to help them turn operational data into decisions that improve reliability. With tools like TRAFCOM, Neve’s team can prioritise maintenance, manage risk and keep essential services running even in the toughest winter weeks.”
From interval-based to condition-based
By shifting from interval-based to condition-based maintenance on transformers, Neve is:
- extending asset life;
- improving efficiency; and
- reducing total cost of ownership.
Early detection avoids unexpected failures, while targeted interventions minimise energy losses and focus the team’s effort where it has the most impact. Remote visibility across assets strengthens network resilience and gives operators more confidence during the coldest weeks of the year. Together, these improvements help Neve deliver a more resilient and sustainable service for customers while ensuring the network is ready to meet future demand.
Erkki Pietilä, electrical and automation operation manager at Neve, says: “In a city where winter tests every link in the chain, reliability is a social responsibility. Using data to anticipate issues helps us keep households warm and businesses running while we invest for the long term. With real-time transformer insights from ABB’s solution, we act before small signals become big problems. That means fewer unscheduled visits, steadier heat and power for our customers, and maintenance planned on our terms, not the weather’s.”
Looking ahead
Neve plans to expand condition-based practices across a broader fleet of assets as monitoring data continues to prove its value. Integrating insights from transformers, switchgear and protection relays into planning will help the utility prioritise investments, co-ordinate maintenance windows and support growth in electrification, from heat pumps to EV charging. The result is a more adaptable, insight-led network – one that connects and protects the evolving grid while keeping customer outcomes at the centre.
