Public utilities are spending $358 million more on assets to deliver the same throughput when compared to private utilities. To achieve competitiveness, leading public utilities are developing new ways to manage their assets. They are rethinking fundamental processes, techniques, and tools. The result is improved compliance and lower costs. Public utilities can save between $1 and $10 million annually by adopting four critical operational protocols. This paper describes some of these new science-based protocols and shows how current practices are inadvertently keeping costs high. Utility managers that implement the new protocols tap into existing, but unrealized capacity for their facilities. This provides more operational stability and allows utilities to reduce both operational and capital expenditures.