To meet the specific needs of owners and operators of distribution substations (electric utilities or industrial firms), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in Palo Alto, California has introduced a new Distribution Substations Program for 2003. The Distribution Substation Program directly addresses the operations and maintenance (O&M) of distribution substations. The program will help asset owners make appropriate use of new technology to reduce costs, improve equipment, enhance network reliability, and proactively manage equipment performance and end-of-life. A survey estimates that there are around 67,000-transmission substations worldwide, and about 193,000 distribution substations. Within the U.S. alone, the numbers are 19,500 transmission and 45,000 distribution substations. The survey did not clearly identify the factors that differentiated a transmission and distribution substation, and until now, it was always assumed that EPRI's traditional Substations O&M Target (now called the Transmission Substations Program) would serve the needs of both transmission and distribution asset owners.
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