The Energy Management and Maintenance Analysis (EMMA) model was developed and is used at Manitoba Hydro to support the decision making process of planning the system operation. It is a flexible linear programming based optimization tool capable of handling various problems in the system operations planning (long, medium and short-term planning). At the University of Manitoba research is under way to investigate the possible improvement of the model performance by applying an alternative linearization procedure for the hydro energy relationship known as ‘successive linear programming’. The alternative model, named Energy Management by Successive Linear Programming (EMSLP), developed at the University, has shown some advantages over the original EMMA model. This paper addresses the practical role of EMMA in the current Manitoba Hydro system operation and the research need for its potential improvement. The strong link which exists between the experience gained in practice and the research potential available at the Civil Engineering Department of the University will be discussed.