Improving plant capacity by redefining the processes by which maintenance is planned, scheduled, and accomplished

By the end of the 1980s the U.S. utility industry had met the challenge of operating its nuclear power plants at worldclass levels of safety and performance. However, electricity generation, and transmission and distribution in the 1990s has become a fiercely competitive business, placing continuous pressure on the owners and operators of power systems to improve the efficiency in delivering electricity to their customers. Public utility commissions constantly scrutinize rate structures to assess whether utilities are meeting the demands of the marketplace cost-effectively. Utilities, unable to meet consumers´ demands with the lowest cost generated power, are compelled to purchase it from other utilities or independent power producers who can