Tohoku Electric Power Introduces Safie Cloud Cameras to Over 200 Unmanned Hydroelectric Power Plants

Safie Inc. (Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo: Representative Director, President & CEO Ryuhei Sadoshima, hereinafter 'Safie'), holding the No. 1 share in cloud recording services (*1), announces that Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. (Sendai City, Miyagi: Representative Director & President Kazuhiro Ishiyama, hereinafter 'Tohoku Electric') has introduced the cloud camera 'Safie' to remotely manage equipment operations and streamline maintenance tasks at its hydroelectric power plants. Currently, a total of over 260 units are being utilized across the entire hydroelectric division, significantly contributing to the reduction of travel time, work style reforms, and rapid situational awareness during disasters.

## Background and Challenges of Introduction
Tohoku Electric has been promoting the automation and unmanned operation of over 200 hydroelectric power plants for more than 30 years, but has faced several serious challenges in terms of operations. First, at the unmanned power plants in the Aomori jurisdiction, there were environmental constraints making physical patrols difficult due to winter snow accumulation and avalanches. Therefore, there was a strong need to secure a means of confirmation that allowed for real-time situational awareness from a remote location without having to enter the site. Furthermore, the rising travel costs accompanying the consolidation of operational bases and labor shortages was another challenge. They had to cover a vast area with limited personnel, and in some cases, a round trip to the site took up to 4 hours, demanding an improvement to the current situation where an enormous amount of time was spent purely for status confirmation. Moreover, building a management system to proactively prevent troubles while minimizing the burden on frontline workers against specific risks of power generation facilities, such as oil leaks that severely impact the environment and equipment, became a major issue.

## Overview of the Implementation
Safie offers a diverse and comprehensive lineup of products to provide various solutions that use video data not only for security purposes, but also for remote status confirmation, anomaly detection and prediction, and further operational efficiency through video analysis.

At Tohoku Electric's hydroelectric power plants, a total of over 260 Safie cameras are utilized primarily for the remote management of equipment operations and the streamlining of maintenance tasks. The models introduced include the 'PTZ type', which can be freely operated remotely for pan, tilt, and zoom to capture wide areas clearly, and the 'Safie One', an Edge AI camera capable of high-precision recording even in backlit or dark environments via its WDR function, in addition to smooth full HD, 30fps video. Notably, at the Aomori Power Generation Technology Center, remarkable deployment effects have emerged by installing one unit indoors and one unit outdoors.

- Establishing a remote management system via camera footage
In widespread areas where physical patrols are difficult, detailed remote management utilizing the camera's zoom function became possible, realizing efficient personnel allocation that eliminates the need for previously required monitors at the office side. Staff can now grasp snowfall conditions and site anomalies in real-time from their desks or smartphones, establishing a highly effective maintenance structure that enables prompt decision-making for snow removal arrangements and trouble responses.

- Reduction of travel time and operational efficiency
By replacing 'on-site dispatch due to unknown status' with preliminary understanding via video, unnecessary dispatches have been drastically suppressed. The number of site visits was reduced by an average of 2 to 3 times a month, cutting 10 hours of monthly travel costs for the person in charge. Moreover, immediate confirmation of snow accumulation became possible, realizing swift initial responses such as snow removal arrangements.

- Advancement of safety management through video utilization
When a trouble...