Operation and Maintenance Objectives

You will agree in which the prime aim of a power utility, like any other business, is to achieve consumer satisfaction along with optimum effort and costs although maintaining reasonable profit levels. The operation and manages (O&M) practices of a utility contribute significantly within attaining this goal. These activities should help in improving the reliability and manages of plant and equipment, maximizing capacity utilization, increasing operating efficiency, and reducing operating and maintenance costs.

 The goal of O&M for distribution systems might therefore be spelt out as follows.

Objectives of Operation and Maintenance

1. Reliability and Ensuring quality of supply to consumers.

2. Reducing equipment operating and management costs by effective utilization of capacity and resources.

3. Increasing the availability and reliability of plant and equipment along with effective maintenance planning.

4. Improving spares planning and decreasing spares inventories.

5. Standardizing work process.

6. Ensuring the safety of maintenance personnel.

7. Providing a mechanism for making estimates and controlling maintenance expenses.

8. Generating MIS reports for better decision-making and control.

9. Bringing down technical and commercial losses to an optimum minimum level.

10. Preventing any bottleneck in capacity through matching expansion along with the growing demand.