The use of Virtual Reality environments in power substations offers a new paradigm for supervisory control. The existence of a tridimensional model, geometrically compatible with the real substation, minimizes the difference between the mental model constructed by field operators and the control room, improving communication. Additionally, such virtual environments may be used as simulators and training environments. Nevertheless, the development process related to these applications is quite complex, including activities as computer programming, 3D modeling and usability studies with significant managing tasks. This paper presents some new software layers to make the development of 3D virtual power substations easier. By providing tight integration between traditional CAD software and 3D engines, the tools presented here were successfully applied in the construction of several virtual electric power substations.