Kesko supports the security of supply of its stores with backup power

Kesko has been kW-set’s contractual maintenance customer since 2015. Backup power units in roughly 50 stores are maintained every year securely, on time and as agreed. 

K Group is the third largest retailer in Northern Europe, with a market share of approximately 36% in Finland. The company accounts for a significant part of Finland’s food supply, and 80% of Kesko’s food products are domestic. The company also made the list of the world’s 100 most sustainable companies for the 18th time (2005–2023). 

Kesko’s security of supply also depends on the reliable supply of electricity. Electricity is needed in Kesko’s stores for lighting, customer service, heating and the cold storage of products, on every day of the year. Kesko seeks to balance any peaks in electricity demand by adjusting its operations. The company has for long saved energy using various control and monitoring systems, as well as modern heating and cooling technologies. 

Backup power is used to prepare for power outages. “The reliable supply of electricity in K Group stores has been secured with backup power solutions maintained by kW-set for years across Finland,” says Ari Pärssinen, Real Estate Manager at K Group. 

Kesko’s cooperation with kW-set has continued since 2015, and the agreement was extended again at the beginning of 2023. Maintenance agreements for backup power units cover Kesko’s 50 stores across Finland, mostly K-Citymarket and K-Rauta stores. Maintenance is provided for more than 70 units. “At the same time, we also maintain the diesel engines of sprinklers,” says Antti Sihvonen, Maintenance Manager at kW-set.

Maintenance is always carried out on time for contractual maintenance customers 

The maintenance services provided by kW-set also ensure food safety and reliable services at K Group stores in exceptional situations. “It is important for us to help Kesko maintain Finland’s security of supply,” says Sihvonen. 

As a contractual maintenance customer, Kesko can be certain that its backup power units are maintained once a year without the customer needing to remember or order maintenance. Data on backup power units are stored in kW-set’s digital system, and maintenance is always carried out on time. 

“Kesko also has our maintenance number, and urgent help for any faults is only a phone call away,” Sihvonen says. In addition, kW-set’s professionals have access to Kesko’s Tampuuri management system, in which reports on all maintenance measures are updated directly. “We also receive fault notifications through Tampuuri.” 

According to Sihvonen, kW-set can deliver a rental mobile backup power unit as a turnkey service in exceptional circumstances. It generates electricity for different store operations during transformer maintenance at night, for example. “A rental unit can also be used to produce electricity in Kesko’s locations and stores that are not equipped with a backup power unit.”