Making Connections [Guest Editorial]

ASSET MANAGEMENT IS MORE important than ever for electric utilities. Many power systems have assets that are aging, investment is limited, and at the same time we are introducing new technologies on the grid that must be maintained as part of overall asset management systems. Investment in new monitoring and communications infrastructure (often referred to as the smart grid) is opening new opportunities for improved asset management strategies. However, the smart grid is also introducing new challenges in the management, integration, and analysis of tremendous amounts of data that can be available. This issue explores the relationship between the smart grid and asset management—new technologies, systems, opportunities, challenges—and approaches being taken around the world to deal with the new asset management challenges.