A case for managed infrastructure improvement

Many power delivery companies in the United States, Europe, and other countries around the world are experiencing problems meeting their customer service quality targets while simultaneously achieving the profit margin or government cost-control obligations they are expected to achieve. Portions of the systems that consist of "aging infrastructures" often cause these problems. A power system that has components that have been highly stressed or which are near the end of their original design lifetimes and that is configured in manner not compatible with modem needs, produces reliability, maintenance, and budgeting challenges. If these challenges are not anticipated and brought under control, they will eventually overwhelm even the most effective organization. This paper defines and discusses aging power delivery infrastructures and the interaction of the managerial, operating, engineering, and design factors that must be addressed to effectively manage them.