IEEE 2938-2023

IEEE 2938-2023 is a technical guide for evaluating the economic loss of sensitive industrial customers caused by voltage sags. It addresses the cost impact of power quality disturbances on facilities where even brief voltage dips can interrupt processes, damage product quality, or trigger unplanned shutdowns. For engineers, utilities, and industrial operators, this standard helps support more consistent loss estimation and better decision-making when assessing reliability risks and mitigation needs.

Overview of IEEE 2938-2023

This guide focuses on how to estimate and compare economic losses associated with voltage sags in sensitive industrial environments. IEEE 2938-2023 provides a structured way to think about the financial consequences of interruptions that may not be long enough to count as outages, yet still affect production, equipment operation, or process continuity. It is useful when evaluating power quality performance, documenting expected losses, or supporting technical and commercial discussions about mitigation options and service reliability.

Typical use cases

IEEE 2938-2023 is commonly applied when assessing plants with voltage-sensitive equipment such as automated production lines, drive systems, control electronics, and process instrumentation. It may be used during power quality studies, reliability planning, and the review of mitigation measures such as ride-through improvements or conditioning equipment. The guide is also relevant in procurement and contract discussions where the expected cost of voltage sags needs to be understood for sensitive industrial customers and production-critical operations.

Why it matters

Voltage sags can create losses that are difficult to quantify without a clear evaluation method, especially in industrial settings where a brief disturbance can stop a process or scrap finished goods. IEEE 2938-2023 supports more consistent economic analysis, which can improve compliance documentation, investment planning, and risk reduction efforts. By helping stakeholders assess the real cost of poor power quality, the standard can inform design choices, testing priorities, and decisions about whether mitigation measures are justified.

• Economic loss evaluation for voltage sag events
• Sensitive industrial customer applications
• Power quality and reliability planning
• Support for mitigation and cost analysis