An undervoltage is a decrease in the rms ac voltage to less than 90% at the power frequency for a duration longer than 1 minute The term "brownout" is often to describe sustained periods of undervoltage initiated by the utility to reduce power demand Undervoltages result from events which are the reverse of those causing overvoltages A large load switching on or a capacitor bank switching off can cause undervoltage until voltage regulation equipment can bring the voltage back to within tolerances Overloaded circuits can also cause undervoltages
In an undervoltage condition, a lower-than-usual power-line voltage lasts from several seconds to several hours