Survey Finds That Power Quality Leads Electrical Contractor Business

By Consulting Specifying Engineer Staff February 16, 2005

Electrical contractors say power quality projects now comprise approximately 60% of their revenue—with 40% expecting their PQ work to increase during the next few years—according to a new survey from the National Electrical Contractors Assn.’s Electrical Contractor magazine.

The “Power Quality Study” also shows that 93% of contractors who worked on PQ projects within the 12 months surveyed performed installation rather than maintenance.

“Our reader survey not only measures the power quality spike; it defines the electrical contractor’s changing role and impact in the entire sector,” explains John Maisel, publisher of Electrical Contractor .

The 40% of 434 qualified respondents who expect PQ work to increase over the next few years, gave as their main reason that computers and other types of electronic equipment will require clean power. They also cite concerns about poor or degraded power quality or concerns about the integrity of the infrastructure.

Additionally, 30% of those who are not currently working on PQ projects but did so in the past say they expect to be doing PQ work again in the next few years for similar reasons. They also cite problems with power availability and/or alternative energy/cogeneration.

Survey respondents were also asked how they expect their volume of work to change over the next few years on each of 11 types of equipment included in the study. The majority (40% or more) cited uninterruptible power systems, surge suppression and standby generators as areas that will have future increased volume for their firms.

For more information go to www.ecmag.com .