Paikallis-Sähkö builds substations as turnkey contracts

Paikallis-Sähkö, the largest electricity contractor in Northern Finland, has expanded its operations into the public electricity infrastructure. The first projects will be carried out in Kajaani for Kajave at the Lohtaja substation, and at the Permantokoski and Seitakorva substations owned by Caruna.

Paikallis-Sähkö offers a wide range of hard skills and services for substation construction and renovation.

– We aim to be a full-service electrical contractor in Northern Finland for both our corporate and public sector clients. Substations ensure the operation of electrical systems, so we offer them a full service from design to construction, installation, and maintenance, says Timo Keränen, Managing Director of Paikallis-Sähkö.

In addition to substation construction (110/20 kV), Paikallis-Sähkö is responsible for major industrial electrification projects, medium-voltage cabling, the supply of transformer stations, main distribution centres and industrial process centres, and electricity network maintenance contracts. The company’s substation projects are led by Toni Mikkonen, Regional Manager.

New substation to be completed in Kajaani this year

The electricity network company Kajave operates in Kainuu and partly in North Ostrobothnia. Paikallis-Sähkö is building a substation for Kajave in Lohtaja, Kajaani. The project will move from the design phase to construction work in May 2022, which will be completed in the summer and followed by installation and cabling work that will last well into the autumn. The plan is to have the station operational before the end of the year.

– It will be one of five urban substations in Kajaani. Investments in substations are important because they improve the security and availability of electricity supply. The projects take two to three years from preliminary design to commissioning. This turnkey contract will create an infrastructure that is expected to operate for 30-40 years with good maintenance, says Marko Manninen, Kajave’s operations manager.

The Lohtaja station will be equipped with ABB Unigear 2 rail equipment. Otherwise, the strategic dimensions are 12 kV (voltage), 3150A (rated current) and 31.5kA (short-circuit current 1s).

– Under the turnkey contract, Paikallis-Sähkö is responsible for the design, civil engineering, construction and demolition works, manufacture of the switchgear, installation and upgrading. As a turnkey supplier, we supervise all stages on behalf of the customer, says Toni Mikkonen.

Paikallis-Sähkö has a wealth of previous substation implementations from the mining industry, power plants, data centres and the process industry, among others.

Paikallis-Sähkö operates throughout northern Finland. The company has offices in Kajaani, Sotkamo, Kuhmo, Paltamo, Hyrynsalmi, Suomussalmi, Kuusamo, Kuopio, Oulu and Rovaniemi. Paikallis-Sähkö employs over 130 professionals and its turnover in 2021 was approximately EUR 20 million.

Pictured: Marko Manninen (left) and Toni Mikkonen.