Preventing Costly Downtime from Power Outages in Petrochemical Plants

Unplanned power outages cause more frequent and expensive downtime in petrochemical plants than all other major hazards combined—fires, floods, earthquakes, network failures, and equipment malfunctions. Recent economic analyses show that power‑outage‑related downtime costs the U.S. economy over $150 billion each year.

Hourly losses in the petrochemical sector run into the tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Beyond the financial hit, power outages can trigger catastrophic releases or accidents, amplifying the risk of future incidents.

The root cause is rarely the external grid. In fact, 80 % of industrial outages stem from the plant’s own distribution system—equipment and infrastructure that the plant maintains.

John Lauletta, CEO of Exacter Inc., an international leader in outage‑avoidance solutions, notes, 'Even utilities rely mainly on mitigation rather than prevention. How can plant managers benefit from utility‑grade systems when most utility strategies run to failure?'

Exacter’s cutting‑edge technology detects equipment degradation at its earliest stage—long before an outage occurs. Lauletta explains, 'Our system captures electrical signatures from overhead lines that signal impending failure. Over the past three years, we have surveyed more than two million poles across 120 utilities, preventing thousands of outages.'

With Exacter, petrochemical facilities now enjoy a utility‑grade early‑warning system that enables proactive removal of failing components well before a shutdown.

Exacter identifies failures invisible to visual, infrared, or conventional inspections—preventing outages that even the world’s leading systems miss, says VP Geoffrey Bibo.

Although Exacter has long served electric utilities, it is a newcomer to petrochemicals. Bibo notes, 'Our field teams perform several on‑site surveys annually. We pinpoint, verify, and photograph pre‑fail equipment, streamlining preventive maintenance. Field trials confirm 100 % accuracy, making it the most comprehensive pre‑emptive outage‑prevention solution for the industry.'