Premium power grades

Many sensitive industrial and some high-tech commercial customers require a premium grade of power. However, the term "premium power" often elicits unrealistic expectations from those customers. To accurately quantify premium power, utilities must define a baseline for grid power so that customers will have a clear idea of what is expected from "normal" grid power. This paper provides in-depth analysis of the technical, economic, and regulatory issues that need to be resolved in order to make premium power services a viable option for energy providers of the 21/sup st/ century. Power quality indices suitable for defining base-level power are addressed, numerical values for these indices to define "basic power" are quantified based on power quality benchmarking that has been conducted in several regions around the world, and the impact of local regulatory issues on offering premium power services are analyzed. This paper serves as a guideline for establishing premium power grades by energy service providers.