Insulect Projects: Power Generation, Transmission & Distribution

Elektrilevi Prevents Critical Grid Failures with Safegrid

Written by Admin | 1 Aug 2023
Company
Elektrilevi
Location
Estonia
Timeline 2023
Project Overview

Elektrilevi partnered with Safegrid to enhance visibility and reliability across its distribution network. Through a pilot deployment in Tallinn, Safegrid’s Intelligent Grid System® demonstrated its value by identifying a hidden fault that could have led to a major outage affecting thousands of customers.

Products Safegrid Intelligent Grid System®

This is a Safegrid Case Study.  

Background

Elektrilevi is the largest grid operator in Estonia, serving over 533,000 customers across a network spanning 63,000 km. Ensuring uninterrupted service across such a vast system requires robust monitoring and early fault detection capabilities.

To improve network transparency and detect hidden issues, Elektrilevi initiated a pilot project with Safegrid in Tallinn’s distribution grid.

Challenge

Elektrilevi encountered a complex and potentially dangerous situation:

  • A cable failure in a double-cable feeder

  • The second cable continued supplying power, so no outage occurred

  • The issue remained undetected for several weeks

  • Existing monitoring systems did not identify the failure

  • Risk of a critical outage if the second cable had failed

This type of fault is particularly difficult to detect because normal service continues despite a hidden vulnerability in the network.

 

Solution

Safegrid’s Intelligent Grid System® provided advanced monitoring and anomaly detection.

Key capabilities:

  • Continuous analysis of network current behavior

  • Detection of abnormal changes in feeding currents

  • Early identification of missing phase conditions

Implementation outcome:

  • Safegrid detected unusual current patterns and flagged a potential issue

  • Elektrilevi was alerted to a possible missing phase

  • Further investigation confirmed a broken cable in the feeder

  • The fault was quickly repaired and the network restored to normal

Benefits

The Safegrid solution provided significant advantages:

  • Early detection of hidden faults before escalation

  • Improved network transparency and visibility

  • Reduced risk of critical system failure

  • Faster, data-driven decision-making and response

  • Enhanced grid reliability and resilience

Results

With Safegrid’s Intelligent Grid System®, Elektrilevi achieved:

  • Prevention of a potentially critical grid failure

  • Protection of thousands of customers from outage

  • Identification of a fault undetected by legacy systems

  • Improved confidence in grid monitoring capabilities

“Thanks to Safegrid system we were able to eliminate a potentially critical failure from our grid which could have escalated to a fault causing an outage to thousands of customers.”
— Taavi Tammeorg, Chief Specialist, Elektrilevi

Conclusion

This case highlights the importance of advanced monitoring in identifying hidden risks within power distribution networks. Safegrid’s Intelligent Grid System® enabled Elektrilevi to detect a critical fault that conventional systems missed, preventing a potentially widespread outage.

By improving visibility and enabling proactive intervention, Safegrid helps utilities strengthen grid resilience, minimize risk, and ensure reliable service for their customers.