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.