Dam Safety
Published by Anna Engström Meyer ·
This website aims to briefly explain who we are, and what we do regarding dam safety issues. For Swedenergy and its member companies, dam safety issues are important. Swedenergy produces instructions, guidelines, recommendations and training in order to support the dam safety work of its member companies.
About Swedenergy
Swedenergy is a non-profit industry and special interest organisation for companies that supply, distribute, sell, and store energy. Mainly electricity, heating, and cooling. Swedenergy monitors and promotes the interests of its members and the Swedish energy sector in general. The organisation has a total of 400 members, which includes state-owned, municipal, and private companies as well as associations within the energy sector. About 50 of the members are active in the hydropower industry.
Dams in the hydropower industry in Sweden
In Sweden, there are an estimated 10,000 dams of varying size and age. There are around 2,000 dam facilities in the hydropower industry. Most of the large hydropower facilities were built during the 1950s-1970s. Most of the country's large dams, as well as parts of the smaller dams, belong to companies that are members of Swedenergy.
About dam safety
It is important that dams have a satisfactory level of safety because a dam failure can have major consequences in the form of extensive damage to property and, in the worst case, even to people's lives. Swedenergy's member companies in the hydropower industry are and have been a driving force, even internationally, when it comes to safeguarding and developing dam safety. Among other things, extensive investments are being made to ensure that the dams can handle high flows in both current and future climates.
The role of Swedenergy
Swedenergy supports and monitors the dam safety work of its member companies and collaborates with other dam safety actors, both nationally and internationally.
- Swedenergy continuously provide and develop guidelines for dam safety (RIDAS in English) together with associated application guidelines.
- Swedenergy provides dam safety courses and training aimed for persons who works with dam safety.
- Swedenergy ensures that RIDAS audits of the member companies' dam safety work are carried out on a regular basis.
- Swedenergy provides a system for experience feedback that gives member companies the opportunity to exchange experiences and disseminate lessons learned about events, incidents and dam failures at dam facilities.
- In collaboration with the national dam safety authority (Svenska kraftnät) and the Swedish Mining Industry (AGDA - Svemin), Swedenergy provides guidelines for design flood determination for dams.
More in English about dam safety and Swedenergy
In the following we provide links to websites of other organisations with important roles for dam safety development in Sweden.
- On Svenska kraftnäts website you can find more information about Svenska kraftnäts role as national dam safety authority, dams in Sweden and the Swedish dam safety framework.
- Energiforsk is a research and knowledge institute that advances and coordinates energy research. Their Dam Safety Programme contributes new knowledge to the strategic work on dam safety and benefits the long-term development of Swedish hydropower production. Read more: Dam Safety | (energiforsk.se).
- SwedCOLD represents Sweden as a member country in ICOLD (International Commission On Large Dams) and has been a member since 1931.
Read more about Swedenergy and the Swedish energy system: Welcome to Swedenergy.