VSE Group's Proactive Strategy with Meteomatics

The VSE Group, part of the E.ON Group, is the leading energy and infrastructure service provider in Saarland. Its mission: to ensure security of supply under all conditions. With overhead lines, substations, local network stations, and street lighting infrastructure across the entire region, the grid is continuously exposed to weather-related risks.

The turning point came in 2024: the severe flooding over the Pentecost weekend in Saarland clearly demonstrated how quickly widespread precipitation can push the grid to its limits. This event prompted the VSE Group to submit a specific challenge to the E.ON Grid Startup Challenge, with the goal of identifying innovative approaches to precise weather intelligence. In a structured selection process, numerous solutions were scouted and thoroughly evaluated. Meteomatics ultimately emerged as the winner, laying the foundation for the collaboration between the two companies.

Widespread heavy rainfall and prolonged precipitation are among the most significant operational threats. They can flood substations, damage local network stations, and trigger disruptions in multiple locations at once. As a result, personnel and material resources quickly reach their limits.

As Sebastian Palm, Head of Electricity Grid Operations at energis-Netzgesellschaft mbH, explains, resilience starts well before the first storm cell forms:

Planning is the starting point. With other providers, we were unable to define our own alert thresholds. Without early visibility or the ability to set appropriate thresholds, we are forced into a reactive mode.

While grid redundancies such as alternative routing and reserve capacity exist, even these can be stretched during large-scale events. At that point, prioritization becomes critical: where will risks escalate first, and where should teams be deployed before the situation worsens?

With MetX, the VSE Group can define custom alert thresholds, set up automated email triggers, and receive proactive warnings for clearly defined areas, creating the level of transparency that was previously missing and is essential for improved operational planning.

We can define all thresholds individually and set up alerts that actively notify us as soon as an event begins to develop. This allows us to protect assets before critical conditions arise and intervene precisely where it is truly needed.

The impact is tangible:

With MetX, we now see exactly when a storm will hit, how intense it will be, and which areas will be affected with a lead time of 24 to 72 hours. This allows us to plan standby operations more precisely, rather than scaling up resources across the board as a precaution.

For the VSE Group, a weather solution is required that can support multiple use cases across the organization. As Stefan Klingler, Project Manager Strategy/Business Development/Stakeholder Management/Innovation at VSE AG, explains:

There are many solutions on the market. What mattered to us was: which one actually solves our specific problem and can scale with our requirements over the long term? For us, that was Meteomatics.

Meteomatics’ SaaS model provides immediate access to all required data without any hardware installation or internal IT projects. Teams can simply log in via a browser, configure their own points of interest, and define alert thresholds that match their exact operational needs. This simplicity reduces implementation effort while also driving internal adoption.

Beyond heavy rainfall and flash flood scenarios, the VSE Group is already exploring additional use cases, including winter weather risks such as icing on overhead lines, as well as wind scenarios that impact grid stability. The same platform supports all of these extended requirements without the need for structural adjustments or additional infrastructure.

The result is a scalable resilience framework. As operational demands grow, the solution evolves alongside them, strengthening the VSE Group’s long-term ability to detect, prioritize, and manage weather-related grid risks at an early stage.

The collaboration itself also proved to be a key success factor. From the outset, Meteomatics worked closely with the grid operators of the VSE Group to define clear thresholds, set up email triggers, and tailor alerts precisely to operational requirements.

Coordination was efficient: project meetings were held at the desired frequency, planning was transparent, and support responded quickly and reliably.

"We developed the solution together. Our requirements were taken seriously, our requests were implemented, and there was always someone available to explain everything in detail. Truly a service at the highest level," says Palm.

Weather-related risks are set to increase in the coming years. By combining high-resolution weather intelligence with operational expertise, the VSE Group and Meteomatics are laying the foundation for a more resilient power grid, ready to meet the challenges of a changing climate while ensuring a consistently reliable electricity supply in the region.