The way we generate, transmit, and use electricity is changing. Driven by government policies, technological advances, and falling prices, sustainable energy sources are increasingly being used to lower emissions without compromising on reliability or affordability.

Around the world, both governments and utilities are striving to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the electricity sector through renewable and sustainable generation technologies. While these efforts have resulted in significant progress, there is still a substantial amount of work left to be done to fully decarbonize the grid while delivering affordable and reliable power to customers.

The North American electric grid is a remarkable achievement. Spreading across the entire continent, the complex mix of generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure continues to deliver reliable power to customers in even the most remote locations.

A midsized utility operates numerous remote electrical substations distributed across a wide geographic region. Physical inspections are conducted on a periodic, scheduled basis using handheld thermal scanners and other equipment to determine the health of substation assets, diagnose issues, and prioritize repairs.

Electrical utilities play a vital role in delivering safe and reliable power to consumers, businesses, and governments. In the U.S. alone, more than $400 billion of electricity flows through more than 7 million miles of high voltage transmission and distribution lines that criss-cross the country. More than 55,000 substations convert that voltage to distribution levels so that it can be safely used.

Despite significant investments in safety, utility substations remain a hazardous environment. With high voltages and the potential for catastrophic failure, utilities must mitigate the risk of injury or death when operating in or around a substation.

Electrical utilities across North America are making significant investments in transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure. Growing demand for electrical power, stronger regulation, and the proliferation of renewable energy sources are placing added strain on aging infrastructure. In response, the industry is moving to enhance reliability, increase capacity, and reduce the cost of maintenance and repairs.

The Asset Management team at a regional electrical utility is responsible for maintaining the health, performance, and reliability of critical transmission and distribution infrastructure. Along with the Operations & Maintenance team, they require data from various sensors, data sources, technologies, and sites. Without a unified dashboard, users must constantly switch between numerous applications and databases.

After a major storm, electrical utilities must rapidly diagnose and repair damage to critical infrastructure to restore power and mitigate the effects of large-scale outages. With trees down, roads flooded, and traffic at a standstill, it is often difficult for maintenance and repair crews to travel to remote substations to conduct physical inspections. Because they lack visibility ahead of time, , they may drive to the remote site and discover little or no damage, that they lack a part required to conduct a repair, or that they cannot access it due to safety concerns.

Systems With Intelligence demonstrated how power utilities can transition to a Condition-Based Maintenance program at the 2022 Southern Company Technical Conference Trade Show last month.