The first steps of cooperation between Loihde and Kuopion Energia were taken in the early 2000s in the form of firewall administration. Around this cornerstone, more extensive cooperation started to develop, including various physical and digital security services.
“It has been easy to build on this smooth cooperation. Loihde has also become the administrator of our telecommunications networks, including both Wi-Fi networks and office networks. The extensive telecommunications network between the city’s electricity grid, district heating and energy production services is a key part of our activities, and Loihde is responsible for its backbone network,” says Jami Miettinen, the Chief Digital Officer of Kuopion Energia.
Internet traffic, duplicate internet routing and the duplication of the cloud services’ telecommunications connections are part of the partnership between Kuopion Energia and Loihde.
“Camera surveillance services have also been entirely centralised to Loihde. In addition to traditional camera surveillance, there are numerous cameras used to monitor different processes in our power plant environment.”
Loihde also provides Kuopion Energia with the administration of the power plant area’s gates, licence plate scanning and various digital security services, for example.
“We have been a customer of Loihde CSOC since 2015 and we currently use various cyber security services provided by Loihde. We think that the investments made in cyber security support maintaining the high level of our operational reliability.”
Shared values and willingness to develop
For Kuopion Energia, operational reliability is not only a key value but a matter of pride as well. The number of electrical system issues and district heating interruptions is clearly below the national average.
“Operational reliability is a key theme for us and cyber security is an important part of it. Information systems must work and it must be possible to make quick decisions when necessary. Services do not work without electricity or heating. We need to fulfil our statutory obligations, but we also want to go the extra mile,” says Miettinen.
In 2021, Kuopion Energia has 60,000 customers connected to its electricity grid alone. The services affect the daily lives of more than 80,000 people as some individual customers are housing companies, for example, which means that the services affect more people than the number of customers implies.
“The fact that my work affects the lives of 80,000 people gives motivation every day,” says Miettinen with a smile.
Why Loihde? Kuopion Energia expects a development-oriented approach from its partner.
“You have to have the ability to change, learn new things and progress and develop services even further. Flexibility and expertise are also key aspects and quick reactions are essential,” says Miettinen about the selection criteria.
“Our operating method is that we rely on partners with expertise when it comes to service providers. Of course, we are also involved in service management, but it is not our intention to do everything on our own,” he specifies.
Loihde’s Account Manager Petri Huuskonen cooperates actively with Kuopion Energia. He says that the partnership is versatile and extensive.
“For us, Kuopion Energia is a strategic partner with regard to ICT infrastructure and cyber security services. We have also developed the services together and listened carefully to the customer’s needs,” he says.