Lack of available spare parts was becoming an issue for circuit breakers that had been in commission for around 30 years, while the key part Kemijoki hydropower plays in the country’s energy security and production, meant downtime had to be kept to a minimum.
A customized 12 kV version of the ABB medium-voltage VD4G vacuum circuit breaker family was specified, which clears potentially harmful short-circuit faults in tens of milliseconds, preventing severe damage and lengthy downtime. The retrofit solution reduced downtime to hours rather than weeks, helping ensure the power remained on without any disruption.
Kemijoki Oy is a great example of an operator that is embracing the circular economy. The project demonstrates the integral role a strong servicing partnership can play in helping companies achieve their sustainability goals. The retrofit solution was achieved because of the close working relationship between ABB and Kemijoki Oy, who saw the value of bringing in an expert servicing partner to inspect, analyze and evaluate the health of their electrical equipment, before suggesting a bespoke solution.
Partnerships like this can show where energy use can be optimized, or where equipment requires maintenance and simple and cost-effective fixes which can lower energy consumption and reduce the risk of outages. In heavy industries such as oil and gas, or tightly controlled industrial environments such as food and beverage manufacturing, this is business critical as even a brief black-out can result in severe production losses, with devastating knock-on impacts on revenue.
