Monitoring power interruptions and fluctuations protects your valuable equipment and provides the data needed in the event of problems. Educate yourself before calling an electrician or contacting you electric utility. A proactive approach to power monitoring is smart, simple and inexpensive.
 Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) is one of many power suppliers to state clearly “YOU are responsible for providing any devices needed to protect your sensitive equipment that cannot operate within the voltage variations of PG&E’s normal electrical service.” “PG&E is not liable for damage to your equipment or any other damage from variation in service voltage that are allowable under this rule.” See http://www.voltage-converter-transformers.com/world-electricity-conversion.html for worldwide voltage and frequency norms.
 The Energy Information Administration (EIA), a statistical agency of the US Department of Energy, notes that significantly more than 17 million United States users were impacted by an electrical “major disturbance or unusual occurrence” in 2006. EIA acknowledges that “major disturbances and unusual occurrences” represent only about 1% to 2% of the total electricity outages experienced by both consumers and businesses. See http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/epm.pdf for full details on US electrical outages.
 If you suspect a problem with your electric service, PG&E wants you to know that “It is normal for voltage of your electric service to vary constantly. These fluctuations can result from the normal operation of a utility’s electric transmission and distribution system, among other reasons. Usually, these voltage changes will not cause problems for your equipment or facilities. But for certain electronic equipment, some fluctuations may cause damage or poor operation.” PG&E provides a ‘Self Checklist to Solve Power Problems for Sensitive Equipment’. It suggests keeping a trouble log that encompasses eleven (11) areas related to the occurrence, including date and time, frequency and details related to other equipment affected.
See http://www.pge.com/includes/docs/pdfs/about/news/outagestatus/powerquality/checklist-web-august2007.pdf for full details on the checklist.
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