The implications of these accelerating changes in how fossil fuel power plants operate are profound. They underscore not only the increasing need to function in ways for which they weren’t originally designed but also the vital importance of enhancing asset and plant reliability and availability.

Rather than provide consistent baseload power, for example, many coal and gas power plants cycle often or operate in low-load or load-following modes in response to the increase in intermittent renewable generation. In this playbook, we explore:

• How changed operations emphasize the importance of reliability
• Why there’s room for reliability improvement
• The importance of predictive maintenance software and analytics to bolster reliability
• Why asset performance management is key to predictive maintenance

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