As electric utilities ramp up investments in renewables, the system-wide implications of this shift are becoming increasingly clear. Wind and solar power are clean, cost-competitive, and essential to achieving net-zero goals. But they’re also intermittent, weather-dependent, and inherently misaligned with real-time demand.

As the energy transition accelerates, utilities face growing pressure to reduce emissions, optimize capital investment, and extend the life of aging infrastructure. Much of the focus has rightly been placed on renewables, electrification, and grid-scale storage. However, a quieter, equally powerful opportunity lies in how utilities maintain their physical assets.

The electric utility industry is under pressure from all sides: an aging infrastructure, the rapid growth of renewable energy, extreme weather, cybersecurity risks, and a shrinking skilled workforce. Amid these challenges, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a potential game-changer. Yet for many utility leaders, the conversation around AI often oscillates between overhyped promises and outright skepticism.

As North America's electrical grid infrastructure continues to age, utility executives are under mounting pressure to make increasingly nuanced asset management decisions. The question of when to repair and when to replace is no longer just a matter of scheduling, it’s a strategic consideration with direct implications on capital planning, regulatory compliance, and long-term grid resilience.

Spring and summer bring increasingly volatile weather. Utility Operations & Maintenance (O&M) teams face escalating demands to ensure grid stability under unpredictable conditions. High winds, heavy rain, lightning strikes, and extreme heat events all test the resilience of substation infrastructure, and by extension, the response strategies of those who maintain it.

The electric grid is evolving rapidly. New technologies, like distributed energy resources, automation, and sensor networks, are helping utilities modernize and optimize. But this increased digitalization also introduces significant cybersecurity risks.

Ageing infrastructure, workforce shortages, growing asset complexity, and rising customer expectations have forced utilities to rethink traditional approaches to field operations. In this environment, remote monitoring has moved from being a future-facing concept to a practical, cost-effective solution already delivering results for utilities around the world.

Grid modernization is not limited to replacing aging infrastructure. For electric utilities, it increasingly means building a system that is more flexible, data-driven, and capable of adapting to new demands. Utilities are being asked to do more with greater speed and precision.

The electric grid is undergoing rapid digital transformation. As utilities invest in advanced sensing, automation, and asset monitoring technologies, they are also introducing new risks. One of the most pressing is increased exposure to cyber threats.

As of 2025, digital transformation in the utility sector is well underway. Most electric utilities have already initiated modernization projects, integrated distributed energy resources (DERs), and begun leveraging data to improve decision-making. What’s changed is the pace of expectations and the narrowing margin for experimentation.

In the utility sector, change is incremental, measured, and deliberate, for good reason. With a mandate to deliver reliable, safe, and affordable power, Asset Managers must navigate a complex landscape of aging infrastructure, evolving regulatory demands, and the integration of distributed energy resources. Today, that responsibility is growing even heavier. Aging assets must remain in service longer, while new technologies like BESS and DERs complicate grid operations. And all of this must be achieved within constrained capital and O&M budgets.

This panel discussion was held on Feb 27, 2025. It was moderated by Alan Ross, CEO and Managing Editor of Transformer Technology magazine. Brad Bowness, CIO at Systems With Intelligence, and Mark Tostrud, Technology Officer at Dynamic Ratings, discussed cutting-edge tools, technologies, and strategies designed to optimize power system reliability.

Severe winter storms pose a persistent challenge to North America’s electrical grid, introducing complex failure modes that impact transmission and distribution infrastructure. The effects of ice accretion, sub-zero temperatures, and sustained high winds degrade asset performance, leading to increased load imbalances, insulation breakdown, and potential cascading failures. For engineering leads in Operations & Maintenance (O&M), these conditions necessitate a shift from reactive troubleshooting to predictive maintenance and strategic asset management.

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) support the deployment of renewable power generation while improving the overall efficiency, reliability, and economic viability of these technologies. Grid-scale batteries are essential to managing the impact of renewable energy on the power grid and handling variations in supply and demand to keep the grid stable and reliable.

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are an essential technology that will help to enable the transition toward renewable energy. BESS facilities make it possible to capture the energy produced from wind and solar photovoltaic and deploy it when needed, balancing the intermittency of these renewable energy sources and improving the stability of the grid.

Downstream oil & gas operations begin after the production phase and involve turning crude oil and natural gas into the finished products used by consumers and end-users. The global downstream segment is estimated to be worth US$1.15 trillion, demonstrating the sector’s important role in bringing usable products to the market.

Battery energy storage systems, also called battery storage power stations, are advanced solutions designed to store, manage, and release electrical energy when power is needed most. As investment in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar grows, battery energy storage systems (BESS) will enable utilities to transition away from fossil fuels while meeting growing electricity demand.

A typical downstream refinery has thousands of components, parts, and assets, each with unique maintenance requirements, operating tolerances, and lifespan. At the same time, aging infrastructure, severe weather, and changing regulatory requirements further complicate the role of Asset Integrity Managers and the Operations & Maintenance departments.

Transformers are critical assets, and any failure can have severe and long-lasting consequences. In the most extreme cases, a transformer failure caused by a lack of proper maintenance can result in widespread outages, costly repairs, and regulatory fines.

The oil & gas industry has always been willing to innovate. From the very beginning, leading organizations have developed new equipment, processes, and business strategies that have led to better performance, improved safety, and reduced emissions. But when it comes to new technology, many companies have been hesitant to fully embrace new solutions. Energy 4.0 represents the advances in hardware, software, and communications that have the potential to transform the oil & gas production process.

Visual and thermal sensors enable remote monitoring of high-value and critical substation assets. With better access to data, utilities can reduce operations and maintenance costs, optimize asset health and performance, and implement a condition-based maintenance strategy.

Continuous monitoring provides utilities with an early warning system to detect potential faults or issues before a serious failure occurs. Instead of relying solely on physical inspections, the Operations & Maintenance team can monitor high-value and critical assets across multiple substations and remote locations.

The electric utility industry is evolving. Aging equipment, extreme weather, labor shortages, and the growth of renewable energy sources are straining transmission and distribution infrastructure that was not designed to withstand current conditions.

Electric power utilities have a difficult task. Despite aging infrastructure, the rise of renewable energy, and a shortage of skilled workers, they must continue to get as much out of their existing assets as possible.

Upstream oil and gas companies play an important role in the global energy market. But as financial, regulatory, and public pressures increase, upstream oil and gas companies must find new ways to detect, diagnose, and repair leaks quickly and effectively.

Brad Bowness, CIO at Systems With Intelligence, shares his extensive career journey in the utility sector. He highlights the transition from consulting to in-house roles, noting significant industry disruptions.

Leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs monitor equipment, components, and parts to identify and diagnose unintended leaks.

Industry 4.0 has long been a buzzword in the manufacturing and industrial sectors. Representing the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0 highlights the technological transition from early steam and electric power to modern advances in automation, cloud computing, data & analytics, and artificial intelligence.

As the IEEE T&D Conference and Exposition approaches, running May 6-9, 2024, in Anaheim, California, our team is buzzing with anticipation. As exhibitors, we are poised to leverage the many opportunities presented by this premier event to engage with key industry leaders, demonstrate our innovative solutions, and keep on top of evolving trends in the energy sector.

Utilities don’t need to fear the cloud. As we explored in our previous article, cloud-based applications offer numerous advantages over traditional, on-premises IT infrastructure in the form of lower upfront costs, greater scalability, and fewer ongoing maintenance requirements.

Thermal & visual substation and transformer monitoring solutions are one example of cloud-based applications that can significantly improve utility operations. By providing greater visibility over critical assets, remote monitoring reduces total maintenance costs and allows the utility to transition away from costly physical inspections.

Faced with rising complexity and pressure to deliver affordable and reliable power to customers, utilities must look to new technologies to improve their operations. Energy 4.0 technologies, such as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), cloud computing, data and analytics, and artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) are already providing utilities with greater visibility, control, and monitoring of their substation assets and grid infrastructure.

Oil & gas facilities are difficult and sometimes dangerous places for workers. Hazardous conditions, including the presence of flammable gas, toxic chemicals, and heavy equipment mean that the health and safety of personnel must always be the priority when extracting, transporting, storing, or distributing petroleum products.

Utility substations are often left unattended. Both remote and urban facilities typically operate with little or no direct supervision, especially outside of regular working hours. This makes them vulnerable to a range of security, environmental, and performance risks that could lead to damaged equipment, lost revenue, and outages.

The utility industry is changing. Emerging trends are combining to put significant pressure on generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure that was not designed or intended to meet current and future challenges. Utilities are responding by modernizing the grid and upgrading equipment, components, and technologies. Shareholder-owned electric utilities in the US are forecasted to spend $159.2 billion in 2023 on capital investments, while Canadian electric companies spent $25.3 billion in 2021.

The electric power utility industry has reached an inflection point. Accelerating trends toward renewable energy, distributed grids, labour shortages, and more frequent and severe weather events are taking a toll on aging infrastructure that was not designed to meet the challenges of the future.

As the electric power industry becomes increasingly complex, utilities need greater visibility and control over generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure. When it comes to implementing new technologies, utilities have two primary approaches. Traditionally, utilities have invested significant amounts of resources into on-premises and in-house IT infrastructure, communication networks, hardware, and software.

Substations are critical to the reliable operation of the electric grid, providing the interface between transmission and distribution systems to deliver power to customers. Despite their importance, many of these sites are operated remotely and left unattended and undefended for long periods of time. Physical security measures, such as fences, barbed wire, and other barriers provide some level of protection, but substations remain vulnerable to intruders or other malicious actors who can gain access and cause damage without being detected.

The idea of the smart grid has been around for decades, but today, new technologies and solutions are transforming the way that electricity is generated, transmitted, and distributed. The global smart grid technology market is expected to grow from US$50 billion in 2022 to more than US$130 billion by 2028. But even as many utilities have made some level of investment in the smart grid, most are still flying blind when it comes to, analyzing, and utilizing the asset information that has been collected from both manual and automated inspections.

The electric power industry is undergoing a substantial transformation. As renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are playing a larger role in the overall energy mix, aging infrastructure and a rise in the number of damaging weather events are pressuring utilities to modernize equipment, improve resiliency, and optimize performance.

Ozarks Electric Cooperative is a non-profit, member-owned cooperative that provides power to more than 86,000 customers in Northwest Arkansas and Northeast Oklahoma. The cooperative operates a 69kV loop that connects distribution stations. Motor-operated switches allow the loop to be reconfigured to connect to different sources, respond to load problems, or restore power after outages.

The oil & gas industry faces unique and complex maintenance challenges. Facilities across the production process often operate in extremely difficult conditions that increase the likelihood of equipment degradation and failure.

The way we use electricity is changing. Electrification of energy-intensive industries and applications, such as transportation, manufacturing, and raw materials processing, is vital to achieving decarbonization targets and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.

Sustainability is top of mind for utilities. Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar have moved beyond the pilot stage and have proven to be viable alternatives to traditional fossil fuels. But as these new technologies are introduced to the electrical grid, they add complexity to an already vast and complex system. Unique maintenance requirements, additional equipment and assets, and the need for specialized skills all mean that utilities must consider the way green energy sources will affect their performance when deciding to invest.

Systems With Intelligence recorded this webinar of which is one episode. The webinar is produced and recorded for the ear and they were designed to be either watched live or listened to via audio. If you are able to, we strongly recommend listening to/watching this episode which will include emotion and emphasis that isn’t obvious when reading a transcript. Our transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and humans. They may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio before quoting in print.

Utilities are more connected than ever before. What was once a largely analog industry has introduced new technologies that improve performance, reduce costs, and enhance operations. With increased connectivity, however, comes an increased risk of cyber attacks. And as threats become both more sophisticated and frequent each year, utilities must ensure that cyber security is carefully considered with every investment.

Utility-grade thermal & visual sensors offer numerous benefits over traditional approaches to substation monitoring. By allowing both the Operations & Maintenance team and Asset Management group to monitor the health and performance of several substations simultaneously and automatically, remote monitoring solutions reduce the cost of maintenance, improve reliability, and enhance worker safety.

Thermal & Visual Monitoring solutions offer utilities numerous benefits over traditional approaches to maintenance. Instead of costly truck rolls and manual inspections, utility-grade sensors allow the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) team to monitor the health of high-value substation assets remotely. By detecting sudden or prolonged changes in temperature, utilities can identify potential issues, diagnose the problem, and dispatch a crew to conduct the repair, all from a centralized location.

The traditional way of maintaining and repairing substation assets costs utilities time and money and does not make the most efficient use of scarce technical resources. Technicians must frequently visit remote locations, conduct physical inspections, record any issues, and return with the right equipment or parts to complete the repair.

Maintenance and repairs represent a significant cost for electrical utilities. A typical utility allocates around 15 percent of its total operations & maintenance (O&M) budget to planned or scheduled maintenance. While generally simple to manage, this approach can be highly inefficient. Minor issues can go unnoticed in between inspections leading to more serious failures, while crews can spend more time travelling between sites and inspecting equipment than actually conducting repairs.

Severe weather and environmental damage pose some of the most significant threats to North America’s electrical infrastructure. Major storms, heatwaves, wildfires, floods, and blizzards can all damage equipment, bring down transmission lines, and cause widespread and prolonged power outages.

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.

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.

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.

Systems With Intelligence showcased its line of advanced thermal and visual monitoring solutions at the 2022 Duke Energy Regulated and Renewable Energy TechX Conference last month.

Advanced thermal and visual sensors allow utilities to monitor the condition of remote substations from a centralized location. With continuous, real-time thermal and visual data, operations and maintenance teams can allocate resources more effectively, reduce the cost of maintenance and repairs, and improve reliability through condition-based maintenance programs.

In most electrical utilities, a significant share of the overall operations and maintenance (O&M) budget is allocated to conducting inspections, maintenance, and repairs at substations. Keeping this critical infrastructure up and running is vital but challenging work, as utilities must ensure that high-value assets are operating correctly in remote locations that are difficult to access.

Utility substations play a vital role in transmitting and distributing power to thousands of customers across wide geographic regions. High-value assets, such as transformers, capacitor banks, bushings, CVT and load tap changers, to name only a few, must be regularly inspected, maintained, and repaired to mitigate the risk of severe failures and outages.

Critical infrastructure, such as power generating facilities, high voltage transmission lines, and utility substations present attractive targets for vandals and other malicious actors. Damage or disruption to these facilities can have wide-ranging consequences to customers, businesses, and society and cost utilities in repairs, fines, and other expenses.

The North American power grid is under increasing stress. Aging infrastructure is being asked to do more with less as demand for power grows and reliable access to electricity impacts nearly all aspects of our daily lives.

In the US alone, more than 55,000 substations and 7 million miles of high voltage transmission and distribution lines transmit more than $400 billion of electricity each year.