From deregulation and restructuring to new technology and globalization, the power industry has undergone dramatic changes over the past few decades. Falling barriers to entry have led to the rise of small and independent power producers, and empowered consumers with choices when it comes to where to purchase their energy.

These changes have transformed a once staid, stable industry into a dynamic market driven by competitive pressures rather than traditional cost of service models. Today’s plant managers and operators must focus on customer service and retention, cost and rate control, and new tools and technology to compete.

To maximize profitability, most modern plants run “lean and mean” when it comes to internal staff and resources. This often means the highly skilled specialists who perform complex reliability maintenance are not included as part of the in-house team—they are often too expensive or too hard to find. Yet, system failure and unplanned downtime and outages can be catastrophic, and North American Electric Reliability Corp.…

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