Additional pressures have been placed annually on operation and maintenance managers to provide a higher level of power system safety and reliability at lower costs. The greatest difficulty for many of these managers is to design, customize, and optimize a comprehensive preventive maintenance program. Taking a management system approach first, rather than task specific approach, will provide a strong foundation upon which the elements of a good PM program can be built. In this article, a broad range of PM programs is discussed. The various elements of a PM program are also reviewed, as well as the benefits and common problems.