When "electric patriotism" strikes

It was 3:27 a.m. on Sunday 28 September 2003 when all of Italy was plunged into darkness in the most serious electrical outage ever to happen in the country’s history. The incident is clear in the memory of Alessandra Zagnoni, the manager of Terna's North-East Planning Department, who started working for the national transmission grid operator just a short time later with the aim of helping to upgrade the security of the electricity system.

«My experience in the company began thanks to a research thesis. I was enrolled in an electrical engineering course and had chosen power plants as my area of specialisation, and nowhere held as much interest for me and my studies as Terna did. So in early 2004, just after the blackout, I took part in the first studies to review the defence system». 15 years have passed since that thesis, years during which Zagnoni has worked in a variety of roles: moving from the Commercial and Regulatory Department to Dispatching, and finally to her current role in Grid development and planning. She speaks enthusiastically about her previous experiences: «They gave me the chance to acquire the skills necessary for my current position, as the manager responsible for coordinating Development Plan activities for the North-East area».

It is no wonder that Zagnoni has found her thorough understanding of the dynamics of Dispatching an essential preparation for her current task, enabling her to form a clearer picture of effective development steps for an ever more secure and resilient grid. What’s more, being involved in these activities means watching the work evolve before your very eyes: from the planning stage through the authorisation process and culminating in implementation, providing support wherever collaboration is needed with the other teams of the wider Terna group. But of course, as Alessandra herself says, there are lots of different ways to prepare yourself for these challenges; and a young, fresh, open mind always represents an opportunity for the entire team to pursue innovation in a constantly changing context.

Innovation is something that’s produced within Terna. It’s impossible to talk about technological innovation without mentioning cultural innovation; and the 2021-2025 “Driving Energy” Business Plan predicts a 10% growth in the workforce for the first three years. This is a significant figure in this unusual post-Covid recovery period, springing from the firm belief that it is people, with their exceptional skills, ideas and commitment to energy transition, that will pave the way for Terna’s evolution.

«In the planning department we must look ahead to 20 years from now, we have to be skilled at tapping into new trends and cutting-edge technological solutions… because goals can change too: just think about the growth and integration of the renewable sources which have become more and more important, year after year. These are new challenges that have to be integrated into an electrical grid system that can never — that must never — come to a stop. Instead, it must undergo constant renewal in order to stay focused on the future at all times».

Terna is working on many different projects to make the national electricity grid ever more secure and resilient. Looking just at Zagnoni’s area, the North East, there is the vitally important Adriatic Link project: a strategic and cutting-edge operation which will serve to support the development and integration of renewable sources between the North and South of the country, making a concrete contribution to the decarbonisation of the Italian energy system. As with other initiatives, it is in line with the objectives of the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) and will have a positive impact on the region thanks to the involvement of over 120 businesses, both direct and satellite. All of these interventions are contained in the 2021 Development Plan, but that’s not all. It also sets out projects for the future: «Because, like electricity itself, we never stop».