Delgado, Joaquim Duarte BarrocaAlmeida, Aníbal Traça deSaraiva, Pedro Andrade2011-01-312011-01-312002-071647-662Xhttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.19/620The problems that affect the electrical sector in Portugal are likely to be similar to other countries, since the types of equipment (and loads) used in the industry and service sectors are nowadays almost universal. Liberalization is now making its first steps in Portugal, leading to discussions and additional pressure for providers to increase the quality levels provided to consumers. But do the consumers have sufficient known-how about the new problems that affect the sector today? Are they adopting the correct measures for dealing with the emerging problems related with non-linear loads proliferation, more sensitive equipments, etc.? Based on these realities, facts and the perception that power quality related problems in Portugal are still at an early perception stage, when compared with other countries, we conducted a detailed survey, focusing on the more demanding activities (premium power consumers), in order to identify the present levels of knowledge, needs and opinions about power quality. For the Portuguese companies power quality related problems are mainly centered (almost exclusively) around interruptions. From an immediate economical perspective, the continuity of supply is effectively the first priority, but all the other dimensions of power quality receive very little attention, although they are also very important factors for industrial competitiveness.engQualityPortugaljournal article