— Juhani Hovilehto, President - India Operations,
Ensto Utility Networks
Headquartered in Finland,
Ensto specializes in developing and
marketing electrical systems and supplies for the dependable and
efficient distribution of electrical power. Ensto has been in India
since 2009 and has already developed a manufacturing and product
development facility at Manesar in Haryana.
Juhani Hovilehto,
in an interaction with
Mrinalini Prasad, discusses why building
efficient distribution networks should be India's top priority.
Hovilehto explains that India can save huge amount of energy
if quality products are used in its vast nationwide power
transmission network.
Tell us briefly about Ensto India. What is the company's area of
expertise?
Ensto India specializes in the development and customizing of
Ensto's line building Smart Grid product range and high-end
industrial enclosures for the Indian market.
We manufacture and market electricity distribution line
building accessories for both Underground Cables (UGC) and
Overhead Lines (OHL) from Low voltage to Medium voltage up
to 36 KV.
We are experts in offering customer-specific enclosing
solutions for demanding industrial environments. We have
created a range of applications for different industries. One of
our focus areas in India is enclosing systems for renewable
energy applications.
What, according to you, are the main issues with the
distribution network of India?
There is a very urgent need for better distribution system in
India—before it's too late! Electricity demand is growing every
day. The Smart Grid must be introduced in the near future and
this means that requirements for reliability of the distribution
network are very high. The distribution system has to be
developed in order to optimize the three main factors of life
cycle costs for reliability and safety—operation, maintenance
and losses.
Our aim is to increase the life cycle of the distribution
network to up to 40 years or more. High standard products are
the cheapest in the end. L1 is not the best practice! Products with latest technology and superior quality not necessarily
have the lowest prices, yet in the long run the total lifecycle
cost will be L1 as compared to inferior quality products. The
irony is that most of the electricity distribution companies
purchases on L1 basis only through public tendering. This many
times ends up in buying poor quality products with drastically
higher maintenance costs for the distribution network.
What are the products and solutions offered by Ensto in this
regard?
Ensto specializes in the development, manufacturing and
marketing of electrical systems and supplies. We offer
solutions for smart electricity distribution grid, low and
medium voltage overhead and underground cable lines; highend
industrial enclosures & terminals—plastic and metal;
electric vehicle charging and energy efficient building
In India AT&C losses are estimated to be around 27 per cent.
How much of this can be avoided by using these solutions?
Electricity distribution network's technical energy losses
usually range from five to ten per cent in Europe, America
and Asia. In Finland for example, the electricity
distribution network losses are less than 3 per cent
(commercial and technical together). There almost all of the
370,000 km of distribution lines are built with Ensto's
connectors and jointing technique.
What are the challenges faced by solution providing company,
such as yours, in this segment? How is Ensto geared to face
these?
"L1 mindset" as mentioned earlier! Without proper standards,
it is a world of 'mix and match'. Indian standards have not been
revised keeping in mind the latest changes in technology. For
example in Europe, all EC countries are complying with the EN
standards and have done away with their own national
standards.
In India, we have more than 6,000,000 km of electricity
distribution lines and all are aluminum. The Indian network is
built without proper connectors or aluminum jointing
technique.
During the peak load hours these 500 million joints can bring
nationwide 5,000 mw technical losses. If each joint is
approximately 10W, by using Ensto connector it can be reduced
to a minimum level and a huge amount of energy can be saved. We believe these investments for reliable connectors will pay
back during the first year.
How has the market trend changed in recent years in the
distribution sector?
Electricity demand is growing every day. Smart Grid must be
introduced in the near future and this means that the
requirements for reliability of the distribution system are very
high. To make the Smart Grid project successful we need to
improve the quality of distribution lines with innovative and
high quality products to maximize the life span, reduce
outages, save energy by using low contact resistance joints
and to reduce the overhauling and maintenance cost to minimal
level.
Energy saving can be achieved by understanding that the line
man is the most important person in this complete chain. We
must work towards
- proper planning by understanding the chosen distribution
system in details
- proper training on all levels regarding proper installation
- proper tools & techniques to handle the distribution system
- proper planning & scheduling for maintenance of the system
- use of high quality products which fulfil the requirements of
the latest standards
What is Ensto's strategy for growth in India?
We are building a better society by improving energy efficiency
and focusing on sustainable development.
To accomplish this we have decided to be in the frontline of
electrical industry in producing clean, recyclable, trusted and
innovative products and solutions with a long lifetime and a low
lifecycle impact on environment.
Tell us about Ensto's facilities in India. What are your
expansion plans in coming years?
Ensto India Pvt Ltd is founded in 2009 with a manufacturing and
product development facility in Manesar. After the success of
utility networks products, we already have entered the local
industrial enclosures business.
So far we have produced and supplied more than 1 million LT
AB connectors to India and have exported also to several
countries from India. We are an international company with
thorough experience from 70 different countries. This is all for
better distribution lines. If the environment is conducive, we
plan to invest more for the Indian operations.