Alongside his work, Tommi contributes to energy-sector committee work as a deputy member of the Grid Committee of Finnish Renewables. He has also gained experience in committee work through Finnish Energy’s working group on grid infrastructure placement. In this interview, Tommi talks about his career path, his work at Ilmatar and what collaboration between industry players can, at its best, bring to his own work and projects.
1. What is your role at Ilmatar?
I work as a Technical Project Manager in the Engineering & Technology team. I am responsible for grid connection tasks related to our project development portfolio, including coordinating grid connections, negotiating with grid companies and managing engineering projects.
2. Tell us briefly about your career before joining Ilmatar.
During my studies and after graduating, I worked at Caruna for several years. I started with a summer job and later moved into a longer-term role in network operations planning. From there, I progressed to managing distribution network investment projects and later high-voltage distribution network investment projects before joining Ilmatar.
3. Tell us a little about your educational background.
I have a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Lappeenranta University of Technology. Before university, I attended a vocational upper secondary programme specialising in electrical engineering.
4. How do you like working at Ilmatar? What is the best thing about being one of us?
I enjoy it very much. In my opinion, Ilmatar has an exceptionally good workplace culture. The best part is getting to do work that has a meaningful impact on society every day together with knowledgeable and friendly colleagues whose company I also enjoy outside work, taking part in various leisure activities.
5. You are involved in energy-sector committee work. Tell us a little about it.
I am a deputy member of the Grid Committee of Finnish Renewables, and I have also been a member of Finnish Energy’s working group on grid infrastructure placement. Both provide a common platform for discussing electricity grid issues and developing shared positions for industry advocacy.
6. What is the most interesting lesson or insight you have gained through committee work?
Challenges are often shared and affect many companies across the industry. By getting around the same table, we can share best practices and find new perspectives and solutions even to complex situations. These insights can also help us move our own projects forward.
7. What has been the best lesson or a particularly memorable moment in your career?
The best lessons come from making mistakes. You should not be too afraid of them or let the fear of making mistakes stop you from getting things done.
One experience that has stuck with me dates all the way back to the end of vocational school. We were finishing the electrical installations in a new detached house and opened a connection at the main switchboard to carry out the necessary commissioning measurements. The measurements continued until the future owner of the house invited us to a thank-you lunch. As it was bitterly cold outside, we switched the electricity back on before leaving.
When we returned from lunch, the cheerful mood quickly turned to confusion when we discovered that several electrical appliances had been damaged while we were away. We soon traced the cause to a connection that none of our team had remembered to restore before turning the electricity back on. The incident made such a lasting impression that I have never made the same mistake again.
8. What is something others might not know about you?
I was involved in building the Hamina data centre towards the end of 2010. And “just a moment later”, in 2026, data centres are once again a hot topic of discussion at work.
