REPORT SCOPE
INTRODUCTION
It is no longer possible to ignore the implications of the reliability and overall quality of our electrical power supply. Without dramatic changes in the quality of electric power coming into homes and es, everyone on the grid, from residential to industrial customers, is vulnerable to significant damage and loss. Interruptions and disturbances in supply voltage can shut down, damage, or even destroy the equipment it is attempting to run. To meet this challenge, an over $10 billion global industry has arisen to provide energy consumers with the solutions they need to protect their operations and property.
In a study released in July 2001, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) estimates that power interruptions and disturbances are responsible for as much as $188 billion in losses every year. This figure can only increase, as more and more sensitive equipment becomes an integral part of the overall economy, and as beleaguered utilities go lean and mean as they scramble to compete on the open market.
STUDY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
This BCC report analyzes the current and future market for power quality products and services in the face of this emergent demand, from small residential-use surge suppression strips to high-kVA uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and power conditioning equipment for large-scale facilities. Detailed forecasts are provided for the period from 2001 to 2006.
REASONS FOR DOING THE STUDY
There is a great need for an accurate, up-to-date analysis of the market for power quality solutions as a consequence of the explosion of the telecommunications (telecom) and datacom industries in the late 1990s, and the current nationwide trend toward deregulation and unbundling of the electric utilities. As is dramatically evident in the energy challenges now facing the state of California, the energy industry as a whole¾and the quality and reliability markets in particular ¾is rapidly gaining in profile and importance. This study intends to address the need for current data on power quality markets in light of these developments.
CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY AND FOR WHOM
This guide to power quality (PQ) markets is designed to benefit those companies already involved in the either as end users of equipment or as manufacturer's service providers, as well as energy services companies, utility companies, and even burgeoning power marketer industry participants. This study report_highlightss trends in PQ product output, technical use in commercial products and R&D, and identifies the current players and their major products and contributions within the context of the entire market. Specifically, the present and future markets for PQ devices in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors of the economy are evaluated. Because of the broad scope of this study in terms of its evaluation of markets, technology, regulation, and R&D, it will be found equally valuable to participants in industry, government, academia, and R&D.
SCOPE AND FORMAT
The study exhaustively investigates the current profile of the power quality industry. It includes:
- An industry overview, including the nature, history, and scope of the industry;
- A thorough discussion of markets, containing current and future forecasts of PQ product sales by major product category, and by application;
- A detailed examination of technological innovations and research trends, including patent analysis; and
- A comprehensive summary of major and minor market players.
A collection of appendices appears at the study's conclusion that provides further resources of interest, including industry standards, upcoming conferences, and more.
METHODOLOGY AND INFORMATION SOURCES
Information for this report has been gathered from a wide variety of sources, with primary emphasis on companies active within the industry. Information gathered from telephone interviews and a comprehensive review of all the technical, patent, and literature available make this technical/marketing report unique in its global perspective of the PQ industry.
Sources include public and private es, research institutes, electric utilities, government agencies, industry standards agencies, as well as hundreds of , trade, and technical journals and newsletters. Dollar amounts in projections and forecasts are presented as 2001 constant dollars.
