Strategies for Investment in It Systems for Asset Management

The benefits of proper Asset Management have always been well known in the power industry. Lately, with the aging infrastructure and workforce, coupled with economic pressures enforced by re-regulation, Asset Management has risen in priority. Taking the Swedish market as an example, the introduction of the Network Performance Assessment Model creates an artificial competitive force on the electric utilities, and, as on any competitive market, the utilities will be looking even harder for ways to become more efficient. With the utilities business being very asset intensive, an obvious area to look for improvements is in Asset Management. Also, as in any industry, a likely method to achieve such improvements is the use of Information Technology (IT). This paper summarizes the findings of a survey on current use of IT, and future plans, for Asset Management conducted among Swedish utilities and pulp & paper mills. The survey shows a large variation in how the utilities approach the issue of improving Asset Management. It also indicates that there are significant differences across the studied industries – electric power and pulp & paper -regarding the integration of Asset Management with other operational processes. In addition, the presentation in the paper specifically addresses the implications of the Network Performance Model on investment in IT systems for Asset Management.