Power quality problems cost the consumer more and more each year. A recent study conducted by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) estimates that outages cost the United States' economy between $104 billion and $164 billion a year, while power quality problems account for $15 billion to $24 billion in annual losses. These increases stem from multiple factors, including the growing dependence on communication and automation technologies and the way the digital age has changed how power is consumed.
Customer expectations and the interaction between supplied electricity and sensitive end-use equipment have redefined the power quality arena. The emphasis is no longer on the purity or integrity of the power sine wave but on overall power reliability. High-quality, reliable power without outages, sags, surges, harmonics, and transients is the expectation. Any disruption or disturbance that causes a customer problem is now a power quality concern.
Our mission is to grow with the market and expand our coverage as power quality and reliability increase in importance to our readers. We'll be placing more emphasis on the impact and interrelation of deregulation and energy management on power quality delivery. Some immediate steps to enhance this focus come with the following announcements:
Phil Musser has been appointed the new editor-in-chief of Power Electronics Technology and Power Quality magazines. Phil joins us from T&D World magazine, where he served as executive editor for the past year. In his new role, Phil will direct the planning of the magazines' editorial content and manage the staffs from our Overland Park headquarters.
Phil earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri in Rolla. Prior to Phil's move to publishing, he worked at MidAmerican Energy and UtiliCorp United, where he held management positions in sales, marketing, engineering, and operations. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a certified energy manager.
A second step, as you've probably noticed by now, is the change in the magazine name and masthead design. We have streamlined our name to Power Quality to better align the magazine in the marketplace.
In 2002, look for more changes and a refined focus to the publication, as we provide a more robust forum and continue to be your number one source for power quality information.
Barry LeCerf, Publisher Utility, Technology, and Business Group blecerf@primediabusiness.com www.powerquality.com