ANNOUNCEMENTS
Electric power quality is that aspect of power supply that facilitates an electrical system to function smoothly. Disturbances in PQ can lead to significant economic, social and environmental costs such as premature aging of equipment, system failures, disruption of sensitive industrial operations, overheating of buildings, fear of personal injury, increased emissions due to back-up generators, etc. This study presents a comprehensive summary of various PQ costs by identifying relevant indicators that quantify the losses incurred due to PQI. It is estimated that USA incurs an annual economic cost of $119 billion owing to PQI. In 2018, it was estimated that India too bears a massive economic cost of $9.60 billion due to PQI. Apart from the evident economic costs, over a 1000 people die due to electricity related failures in USA every year. The situation is much severe in India because incidence reports show that 9986 people died due to electricity related failures in 2015. Willingness to Pay (WTP) is a commonly used indicator for estimating the economic cost of improved power quality. This study surveyed 88 residents of Lucknow & Visakhapatnam and estimates that the residents of Lucknow are willing to pay ₹66 per month for improved power quality, whereas the residents of Visakhapatnam are willing to pay ₹102 per month for the same. Result analyses shows that residential consumers who have air conditioner(s) installed in their homes have a 97.8% chance of having a higher WTP for improved power quality. It is important that PQ costs are investigated to facilitate investments for improvement and generate awareness among all important market actors, including consumers, generators, suppliers and regulators.
Keywords- Power quality issues, Power quality costs, WTP for improved PQ.
