WITH THE SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN INTERMITTENT ENERGY RESOURCES SUCH AS WIND AND SOLAR, A POWER PLANT’S ABILITY TO PROVIDE FLEXIBLE OPERATIONS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER. THIS IMPORTANCE IS REFLECTED IN CURRENT REGIONAL TRANSMISSION ORGANIZATION (RTO) ECONOMICS AND UTILITY TARIFFS: UTILITIES CAN CREATE VALUE IN THEIR HYDROPOWER PLANTS FROM, AND INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCERS CAN RECEIVE SIGNIFICANT PAYMENTS FOR, HAVING ON-DEMAND GENERATION AND ANCILLARY SERVICES SUCH AS FREQUENCY RESPONSE, SPINNING RESERVE, REACTIVE POWER AND BLACK-START CAPABILITY; WHICH ARE COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO AS FLEXIBILITY SERVICES. HOWEVER, MOST UNITS IN THE INDUSTRY’S EXISTING FLEET OF TURBINE/GENERATORS ARE THE RESULT OF DESIGN DECISIONS MADE DECADES AGO WHEN THE ELECTRICITY SYSTEM LOOKED VERY DIFFERENT THAN TODAY. THIS GIVES RISE TO A MISMATCH, IN MANY CASES, BETWEEN A MACHINE’S OPTIMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS AND THE OPERATING RANGES REQUIRED FOR PROVIDING FLEXIBILITY SERVICES ON TODAY’S ELECTRICAL GRID, WHICH CAN HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT ON DAMAGE FROM WEAR AND TEAR. THIS IMPACT IS NOT A MINOR ISSUE: INCREASES IN DAMAGE FACTORS AS HIGH AS 400X HAVE BEEN REPORTED. IN RESPONSE TO THESE PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES, LPS CONCEIVED A RETROFIT OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY SYSTEM FOR LEGACY HYDRO PLANTS. THIS RETROFIT SYSTEM CONSISTS OF HARDWARE, ELECTRONICS, AND SOFTWARE COMPONENTS. THE SYSTEM IS INTENDED TO INCREASE A PLANT'S ABILITY TO CREATE VALUE BY GREATLY ENHANCING ITS ABILITY TO OPERATE FLEXIBLY WHILE DECREASING WEAR AND TEAR ON EQUIPMENT.