Electric utilities

Bentley Systems provides a unified suite of engineering solutions to plan, design, and manage modernized, resilient power grids, including:  

• OpenUtilities Designer 
• OpenUtilities Substation 
• Power Line Systems (PLS) 
• SPIDA 

An integrated 3D environment, like that in OpenUtilities Substation, allows you to combine physical layouts with electrical schematics. This drastically reduces the risk of clashes, improves design accuracy, and automates material reporting, which saves time and budget. By visualizing the entire substation in 3D, teams can identify and resolve issues long before construction begins, ensuring a smoother, more efficient project delivery. 

Our software directly addresses NERC FAC-003 compliance. PLS-CADD uses precise LiDAR data and thermal ratings to calculate conductor behavior under worst-case conditions, helping you accurately identify and document potential clearance violations. You can then use this data to create and manage an efficient, auditable vegetation management program, ensuring you maintain compliance and avoid penalties.

Design a stronger, more resilient grid with PLS-CADD. It allows you to simulate the intense forces of extreme weather by applying user-defined wind and ice load cases directly to your 3D line models. By running detailed structural analysis on your poles and towers under these simulated storm conditions, you can identify and eliminate weak points before construction. This proactive approach ensures your grid is hardened to withstand future weather events and improve reliability.  

Bentley software helps you do more with the team you have. By automating routine and repetitive tasks—from generating material lists in OpenUtilities to running thousands of load case simulations in PLS-CADD—you free up your experienced engineers to focus on high-value problem-solving. A connected data environment also ensures that less-experienced team members can work confidently with trusted data and established workflows, boosting productivity and reducing the training burden.  

A CDE unlocks your data. Instead of being trapped in different files, all project information—from geotechnical reports to 3D models—is managed on a central platform like ProjectWise. This gives every team member access to the latest, most trusted data when they need it. This process reduces rework from outdated information, speeds up reviews, and ensures valuable data is carried through the entire project lifecycle, from design to operations.  

Bentley Systems provides advanced digital twin technology and engineering software to help electric utilities transition from reactive repairs to proactive, predictive grid management.  

Using industry-leading tools like Power Line Systems (PLS), engineers can virtually stress-test infrastructure against extreme weather events, pinpointing exact vulnerabilities so undersized components can be upgraded before storms strike.  

To further support infrastructure modernization and the safe integration of distributed energy resources (DER), we are also developing OpenUtilities Substation+—an upcoming solution currently in early access—which will leverage 3D modeling and AI design assistance to help utilities build a more robust, resilient, and reliable grid.