Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology companies are dependent on the quality of the power provided by the local utility. There are many issues regarding unconditioned power versus conditioned power provided by an Uninterruptible Power System (UPS).

Power has never been regulated in the pharmaceutical industry as it is not considered an active ingredient nor component in pharmaceutical processing or manufacturing. However, all pharmaceutical and biotechnology facilities use power. Power is supplied by the utility. In cases of a power outage, power is generated on-site by using auxiliary generator systems or supplied by emergency batteries. The lag time between the loss of power and the supply from the generator or batteries, is usually 10 – 30 seconds. This is a short duration in physical time but could be catastrophic in process loss.

Utility power voltages and supply can deviate from -7.5% to +7.5% from an absolute voltage value by law. Thus, a 208-phase voltage can range from 192 – 223 volts, as supplied by the power utility. This wide deviation from 208 volts is only one possible problem. Power surges, sags, electrical noise, harmonics, load, and other interferences can damage sensitive electrical components and accessories.

From: “Power: The Unregulated Utility in Pharmaceutical Environment”