According to Contec, an engineering and system integration company headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium, in more than 80% of the capacity extension projects it delivers, production companies request power studies as a first step in evaluating their existing infrastructure. Locally, Contec has been active since 2012, operating through offices in Bucharest and Ploieşti.

"In many production environments, energy is still managed at an aggregated level. Without such analyses, companies are essentially operating without a clear understanding of how electrical systems support production lines under real operating conditions," said Patrick De Pryck, CEO at Contec. A large share of today's production infrastructure was designed or expanded decades ago, when energy consumption was predictable and stable. Since then, incremental expansions, equipment upgrades and changes in production flows have altered consumption patterns, often without a corresponding update of the underlying electrical architecture or monitoring systems.

"Although companies have a clear view of total energy consumption, visibility at the level of production lines, equipment or energy distribution remains limited in many cases. This affects not only cost control, but also the ability to anticipate risks related to overload, unplanned downtime or operational safety," said Andrei Rădulescu, Director of Electrical Engineering & Instrumentation, Contec Romania.

Such studies are typically used to identify vulnerable points in existing infrastructure, support investments in expansion or automation, validate safety measures and build an inventory of energy consumption and load distribution.