The water, gas and district heating "Regional Network and Plant Remote Control Centre" will remotely oversee over 2000 plants and 60,000 km of networks in real time in the six provinces that the Group serves.

It represents a new frontier in remote control and is an excellent resource at the service of the local area and the general public, guaranteeing continued high-quality service 24 hours-a-day with the emphasis on security.

A 400 m² control room, a giant 60 m² screen, 100,000 points remotely controlled in real time, a 3D system to represent the main plants, 90 monitors, 30 stations, a team of 60 operators, a 24-hour emergency technical call centre, double communication lines in fibre optic and an autonomous fire-fighting system: these are the main features of the “Regional Network and Plant Remote Control Centre”, a project carried out exclusively by the Hera Group.

The new ‘centralised remote control centre’ in Forlì will oversee all water, gas and district heating networks and plants managed by Hera across Italy, as well as act as a technical call centre that supports the emergency team.

An expert system that provides operators with guidance and assistance in remote management activities and, taking advantage of its experience, helps prevent against the occurrence of serious problems.

It is the largest centre in Italy in terms of number of services and remote controlled points, and one of the largest in Europe. Employing the best technologies on the market, it can be compared with the operating centres that manage transport systems and power grids.

The centre will be connected with the Regional Hydro-Meteorological System station radar, APRA rainfall stations, and the Regional Cartography Office. It also has a Crisis Unit room that can be used by the Civil Defence in an emergency.

Page updated 4 August 2011