43% Human Error: A Wake-Up Call for Grid Reliability

• Proeksa Meas
• 26 September 2026
• Construction Focus
• 581 Views

North America’s power grid is facing growing reliability challenges from extreme weather, aging infrastructure, and human error, according to the 2025 North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) State of Reliability Report.

The report highlights the need for utilities to improve planning, data management, and collaboration. Digital technologies such as BIM, digital asset models, and digital twins can provide teams with a shared source of accurate information, helping reduce errors and support faster decisions during emergencies.

Real-world projects demonstrate the benefits. A digitized workflow helped engineers rebuild a storm-damaged transmission line and restore power nearly three weeks ahead of schedule. In Missouri, a digital twin helped engineers respond to flood damage threatening a transmission tower serving hospitals, saving an estimated six weeks of remediation work.

Extreme weather continues to demonstrate the scale of the challenge. Hurricane Helene caused power outages for nearly 4.7 million customers in the Southeastern United States.

Bentley Systems says its digital engineering solutions, including Power Line Systems (PLS), can help utilities design and manage more reliable and resilient power networks.

As weather events and aging infrastructure continue to threaten grid reliability, digital transformation can help utilities reduce human error, improve collaboration, and prepare infrastructure for future challenges.

• Bentley
• Bentley Systems
• Power Line System