A Cost-Benefit Framework for Grid Modernization Based on Forecasted Reliability Outcomes

As electric utilities strive to modernize their grid systems, they face a growing array of challenges: aging infrastructure, increasingly frequent and severe environmental disruptions, rising customer expectations for service continuity, and tightening budget constraints. In this complex operating environment, the ability to strategically prioritize reliability investments is more important than ever. A central question emerges for utility planners: how much reliability improvement can be expected from a given investment? Addressing this question requires a systematic, transparent, and scalable approach to evaluating and comparing diverse investment options. This paper introduces a Long-Term Model (LTM) for reliability investment planning, designed to support utility decision-makers in…