September 02, 2014

The NATF is built on the principle that open and candid exchange of information among its members is the key to improving the reliability of the transmission systems in the U.S. and Canada. The NATF’s Practices Program achieves this principle by conducting monthly web meetings and high-quality workshops and by facilitating the development of NATF practices and principles of operating excellence.

Through its Practices Program and other areas, the NATF continually monitors emerging issues that have the potential to affect the reliability of members’ electric transmission systems and focuses efforts on helping members address those issues.

As part of the NATF’s long-range operational plan to identify priorities over the next five years, members agree on the need for increased emphasis and dedication of resources regarding (1) transmission and substation equipment performance, (2) equipment asset management, and (3) spare equipment for critical facilities.

In response, members have formed an Equipment Performance & Maintenance Working Group, under the NATF Practices Program, to share ideas and operating experiences related to these three topics. The working group will collect and analyze equipment performance and asset management data, and develop associated NATF practices to promote reliability excellence.

To expedite the development of products and prevent duplication of effort, the NATF working group will collaborate with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), which has been collecting equipment performance data on transmission assets since 1998.