Maintenance of the electricity network
The maintenance and development of the electricity network are funded by electricity transmission fees paid by customers.
Clearing of overhead line networks
Kerava Energia’s electricity networks are located in Kerava and Sipoo. Factors such as gusty winds and snow loads can cause power outages if trees fall onto power lines. Clearing vegetation around the network helps reduce these outages and ensures the most uninterrupted electricity supply possible. All overhead line networks belonging to Kerava Energia and Sipoo Energia are cleared on a five-year cycle.
Why are power line corridors cleared?
To improve the reliability of electricity distribution. With overhead lines, factors such as gusty winds and snow loads can cause power outages if trees fall onto the lines.
Clearing vegetation around the network helps reduce outages and ensures the most uninterrupted electricity supply possible. Systematic clearing significantly decreases the number of outages.
Which power lines are subject to clearing?
This includes all overhead medium- and low-voltage lines, which total approximately 1,300 kilometers. In Sipoo, there are 1,270 km of overhead lines, while in Kerava, only 62 km remain. For 20-kilovolt medium-voltage lines—which run through transformers—the vegetation is cleared over a wider area to ensure that tree trunks or branches cannot come into contact with the lines under any circumstances.
If a fault occurs in the medium-voltage network, thousands of customers can be left without electricity. In the 0.4-kilovolt low-voltage network, the clearing of vegetation is less extensive.
Our distribution network is divided into five clearing areas, which are reviewed on alternate years. In addition, we clear one archipelago area each year. 200 – 300 kilometers of network are cleared every year.
The forest machine always breaks the terrain and requires more space. The clearing footprint would be much rougher with a forest machine. It is easier for the woodcutter to move and work more neatly both in yards and in forests. This is how we minimize the inconvenience caused to landowners. Certain parts of the forest that cannot be cleared by a logger are handled by helicopter, but this is less common.
The trees and brush to be cleared are the property of the landowner and are to be left along the cleared line.
The forestry worker clearing vegetation around the power lines proceeds at their own pace: following the line, they can cover up to two kilometers a day in easy terrain. In challenging terrain, the pace may be limited to just a couple of hundred meters per day. Unfortunately, it is practically impossible for us to notify every individual property owner exactly which day we will arrive at their premises.
We provide updates on our website and social media channels when clearing work begins in a specific area. We also aim to send a text message notification regarding the clearing work, provided that we have the necessary contact information.