Infrastructure requirements lead to global market growth
BY SOWMYAVADHANA SRINIVSAN, GlobalData
A protective relay is required to register power loss, voltage dips, or overvoltages in order to avoid major accidents, flashovers, and other incidents. If there is an abnormality in the current voltage or other electric power measurements, also known as a fault, a protective relay will detect it. In this case, it can trigger an alarm, as well as a circuit breaker that is used to switch the electric power on and off to minimize system damage. To mitigate the risk of damage due to protection system failure, relays are often used in parallel systems.
GROWTH IN GLOBAL RELAY MARKET
Demand for electricity has been growing exponentially in the past few years. Electricity consumption grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.6 percent between 2006 and 2012, and this is expected to increase to 3.9 percent between 2013 and 2020. In order to meet the rising demand, global-installed capacity is expected to increase at a CAGR of 3.7 percent during the period. This increase in the number of power plants will also drive investment into the substations, transmission lines, distribution lines, and related transmission and distribution (T&D) equipment. The medium and high-voltage (MVHV) protective relay market increased steadily from $1.5 billion in 2006 to $2.4 billion in 2012 at a CAGR of 8.5 percent.
