The Price of Power

The economic costs of poor power quality can be significant. Statistics in the accompanying table were generated using the report, 1998 High Availability and Data Protection Practices, from the Strategic Research Corporation, Santa Barbara, Calif.

By Consulting Specifying Engineer Staff February 1, 2001

The economic costs of poor power quality can be significant. Statistics in the accompanying table were generated using the report, 1998 High Availability and Data Protection Practices, from the Strategic Research Corporation, Santa Barbara, Calif.

The study did not include the lost revenue from the manufacturing sector that could certainly exceed millions of dollars, depending on the process that was interrupted.

The significance of the statistics is that the lost revenue is not recoverable once the power-quality anomaly has been rectified. Consequently, power-quality assurance strategies warrant consideration in almost every facility design.

Application Industry Average Hourly Cost

Brokerage Firms
Finance
$6,450,000

Credit Card/Sales Authorization
Finance
2,600,000

Pay-For-View
Media
150,000

Home Shopping (TV)
Retail
113,000

Catalog Sales
Retail
90,000

Airline Reservations
Transportation
89,500