Managing the Cost of Power Transmission Projects: Lessons Learned

Abstract

A major driver to project success is the ability to manage the project cost effectively. Despite the agreement among scholars and practitioners on the importance of managing the project cost, excessive cost overruns continue to occur on major power transmission projects. In this paper, the author, through a Delphi method, will discover problems of managing the project cost, suggest solutions to overcome these problems, and identify lessons learned from these projects. The study was conducted with two different project teams in the same organization in Canada. Key findings from this study will highlight similarities and differences between the two cases in terms of how each team managed the project cost and learned from it. The paper will contribute to the body of knowledge by identifying lessons learned from power transmission projects on how to manage the project cost and by suggesting solutions to overcome the problem of cost overrun in these projects.