Community activities

Communication with customers

We engage in discussions with our customers at regular meetings and via online surveys, among other things. In addition, we arrange customer events for specific projects or provide customers with information about our projects by publishing videos on our website.

The primary purpose of communication is to foster a mutual understanding in a spirit of good, constructive cooperation.

Regular meetings with key customers and customer consultations on the development of electricity networks

Regional and construction contracting managers hold regular meetings with our municipal customers, while sales and customer account managers meet our large and medium-sized customers. We talk to our key customers about significant and topical matters, but we also consider the impacts of the energy transition on our customers' activities.

Consultation with private customers in relation to the development of electricity networks became mandatory in 2022. At Caruna, we consulted and included our customers before the authorities required it. We developed our consultation practices even further after the requirement took effect.

The aim is to gain local insights and consider rapidly changing customer needs in the development of the electricity network.

Network opportunities and customer panel

We also use online surveys as a way to consult our personal customers. 

Our customer panel consists of active users of the service who expressed an interest in joining the panel. Anyone can join the panel by notifying our customer service desk. The customer panel helps us to develop our operations and services.

Landowners

We consider landowners' needs and wishes when we develop our electricity network and our other operations. Landowners are consulted on route choices and permits, as they know their local area better than anyone else.

Landowners can attend our information events and respond to various online surveys.

Availability of basic services

We are a part of the infrastructure that is critical to the functioning of society, so the principle of non-discrimination is also laid down in the law. The principle of non-discrimination means that we treat all our customers equally and are subject to a connection obligation. The connection obligation means that Caruna must connect all willing network users in its network area to its electricity network upon request.  The Electricity Market Act also requires basic services to be priced reasonably.

In addition to our statutory tasks, we offer various forms of support for our customers on low incomes. The support measures are also equally available to all our customers. Among other things, we can grant additional payment time and prepare various payment programmes for our customers, if necessary. If a customer is unable to make a payment, they can extend the deadline for payment in Caruna+.

Get to know Caruna+ service
Caruna vastuullisuus: Yhteisötoiminta

Electricity network development

When developing the electricity network, we consider the future needs of our customers, the development of the energy market, and regional differences. The most important aspect of electricity market development is to strike a balance between dimensioning and consumption: the electricity network must have the capacity to cater for a growth in demand, but it is not appropriate to create too much system redundancy.

When we develop the electricity network, we take into account the existing connections, previous consumption and major customer projects of which we are aware. The electricity network is developed in cooperation with municipalities and large customer organisations.

Caruna receives information about the development of areas when municipalities ask for statements for town plans, among other things. We can calculate an estimate of the necessary consumption based on this. Over the long term, we also make assumptions about future trends, as the cycles of town planning and network development are not synchronised.

Adequacy of the distribution network

The adequacy of the distribution network is ensured through demand-side management and control. An even load is the best option, both for the electricity network and for users.

Individual actions by electricity network users, such as scheduling their electricity consumption outside peak hours, enable us to operate responsibly and contribute to the adequacy of the distribution network. Adding capacity to the distribution network is technically possible, but evening out consumption peaks wherever possible is a more responsible and quicker way of ensuring the adequacy of the distribution network.

Carunas' network development plans (in Finnish)

Stakeholders

We create well-being for all our stakeholders. We have identified our most important stakeholders and analysed their expectations. Our corporate responsibility is based on a materiality analysis, which is an analysis of the requirements and needs of our key stakeholders, as well as an assessment of the significance of these factors to our company's business.

The analysis covers the needs of our personnel, our various customer segments, municipalities, authorities, civic organisations, our owners, our financiers, our contractors, and our contractual suppliers in terms of the security of the electricity supply, social and societal responsibility, environmental responsibility, and financial responsibility.

A comprehensive materiality analysis is carried out at least once every three years, and the need for updates is verified annually as part of the business performance management process. The materiality analysis is supplemented by various impact assessments related to different stakeholders or specific themes, such as environmental impact assessments.

We engage in active dialogue with our stakeholders, and we collect feedback from them every year by means of surveys on topics such as reputation, customer satisfaction, and the Great Place to Work survey, which gauges the commitment of our personnel.

One important aspect of our work with stakeholders is sharing our expertise. We seek to be a reliable and competent partner to our stakeholders.