To kick off 2025, we decided to start the year off with the important topic of power quality, which is always a fan favorite among EC&M readers. Whether you come from the design (engineering), installation (electrical contracting/electrician) or maintenance (plant facility) side of our audience, providing reliable power solutions to your customers has become a non-negotiable expectation. Not only can poor power quality result in equipment damage or malfunctions, safety hazards, and increased operational costs, but it can also wreak havoc on overall electrical system efficiency or result in the dreaded “D” word no electrical professional ever wants to be responsible for — downtime. Speaking of downtime, we recently ran an online media gallery showcasing the “15 Most Unusual Power Outages of 2024,” thanks to a recent report from Eaton that highlighted the most significant outages of the year in the United States and Canada. Echoing the importance of power outages to the electrical industry specifically as well as society in general, this piece drove significant traffic to our site and sparked active interaction and engagement. As some of the bizarre stories reveal, there’s no shortage of unique culprits behind power interruptions and outages.
Although many of these examples are somewhat extraordinary, there are countless more common instigators that negatively affect power quality. And as power consumption needs inevitably continue to escalate in the future, the need for reliable power becomes even more paramount. According to a new report from Grid Strategies, the current level of growth in electricity demand hasn’t been seen since the 1980s, as reported on marketplace.org in a piece that predicts electricity demand in the United States will increase five times faster over the next five years than originally expected. Another headline from Bloomberg that recently caught my eye sums up the ongoing power predicament in a pretty clever way: “AI Needs So Much Power, It’s Making Yours Worse.” An additional report from Bloomberg, featured on Data Centre Dynamics’ website reveals a strong link between data center proximity and quality of power for consumers. In fact, it states, the “proliferation of data centers supporting AI applications is putting unparalleled strain on the U.S. grid infrastructure and impacting the quality of power delivered to millions of consumers, especially large data center markets like North Virginia.”
According to the “2025 Power and Utilities Industry Outlook” released in December 2024 by the Deloitte Center for Energy & Industrials, the United States is “experiencing a surge in electricity demand, driven in part by a confluence of unprecedented electrification, artificial intelligence-driven data center expansion, and a resurgence in industrial reshoring or manufacturing.” In September 2024, the report states that year-to-date electricity demand rebounded with a 1.8% increase, following a 1.7% decline during the same period in 2023 helped by mild weather conditions. A press release from Reuters, based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, shares that sentiment, expecting U.S. power consumption will rise to record highs in 2024 and 2025. EIA projected power demand will rise to 4,086 billion kilowatt-hours in 2024 and 4,165 billion kWh in 2025. That compares with 4,012 billion kWh in 2023 and a record 4,067 billion kWh in 2022.
In an effort to stay ahead of problems stemming from poor power quality issues, electrical professionals will ultimately be the experts industry turns to for answers. That’s why EC&M will continue to cover the latest power quality topics on a regular basis. Don’t miss this month’s cover story, written by PBS Engineers, which uncovers common power quality misconceptions that can trip up even the most seasoned electrical investigators. “Understanding Power Factor Basics,” by David Colombo, PE, of Power Engineers, LLC, provides a great overview of power factor and why you need to know about it. To better understand how PV inverter failures may lead to AC power quality issues, turn to the article by William Sekulic and Greg Linder. Visit us regularly for exclusive online coverage of PQ topics as well as through our monthly PQ NewsBeat e-newsletter (sign up at https://bit.ly/4h58a5d), which addresses engineers, commercial and industrial facility personnel, and electric utility managers concerned about power quality & delivery and power supply stability.
