EXHIBIT 99.1

[POWELL INDUSTRIES INC LOGO APPEARS HERE]
                                                                  PRESS RELEASE



                                   Contacts: Don R. Madison, CFO
                                             Powell Industries, Inc.
                                             713-947-4422

                                             Ken Dennard / kdennard@drg-e.com
                                             Karen Roan / kroan@drg-e.com
                                             DRG&E
                                             713-529-6600


                            POWELL INDUSTRIES REVISES
                      SECOND QUARTER AND FULL YEAR OUTLOOK

                COMPANY SUBSIDIARY ALSO ANNOUNCES CONTRACT AWARD


HOUSTON -- MAY 8, 2003 -- Powell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: POWL), a leading
manufacturer of equipment and systems for the management and control of
electrical energy and other critical processes, today announced that it has
revised its second quarter and full year outlook.

         Based upon preliminary review, Powell Industries now expects fiscal
second quarter earnings to range between $0.17 and $0.19 per diluted share and
full year 2003 earnings to range between $0.60 and $0.75 per diluted share
before change in accounting principle. Full year 2003 revenue is expected to
range between $240 million and $250 million and free cash flow is expected to
range between $20 million and $25 million.

         This outlook revision is primarily due to the continued deterioration
of the markets the company serves and project delays that have been pushed back
further or replaced with lower margin business.

         "While we are coming off the longest up cycle of six to seven years
that we have seen in the company's 56 years of doing business, the dramatic
falloff in available business in all of our electrical sectors, combined with
radical and intensive price competitiveness, has led us to further revise our
outlook," stated Thomas W. Powell, chairman and chief executive officer. "We
continue to take additional steps to reduce our costs to better match
anticipated revenues."



         Additionally, Powell Industries, announced today that a joint venture
led by its subsidiary, Transdyn Controls, Inc., has been awarded a contract from
the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey to design and build Intelligent
Transportation Systems for the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels. The contract is
valued at approximately $42 million. The Joint Venture awarded the contract
includes Transdyn Controls, Inc. and Parsons Transportation Group of New York,
Inc. (PTG). The Transdyn portion of the Joint Venture is approximately 90% of
the total.

         "Under the 28-month contract, the Transdyn/PTG Joint Venture will
design and deliver the project on an expedited basis," added Powell. "The
contract will include closed circuit video surveillance, incident and stopped
vehicle detection, electronic message signs necessary for emergency management,
communication equipment, and high-availability computer systems. The systems
will be managed by Transdyn's DYNAC ATMS(TM) software product. The award will be
included in our fiscal second quarter backlog results and is included in our
revised guidance for 2003."

         Powell Industries is scheduled to release actual second quarter results
on Thursday, May 29, 2003.

CONFERENCE CALL

         Powell Industries has scheduled a conference call for Friday, May 9,
2003, at 9:00 a.m. eastern time to discuss the revised outlook and contract
award. To participate in the conference call, dial (303) 262-2140 at least 10
minutes before the call begins and ask for the Powell Industries conference
call. A replay of the call will be available approximately two hours after the
live broadcast ends and will be accessible until Friday, May 16, 2003. To access
the replay, dial (303) 590-3000 using a passcode of 538602.

         Investors, analysts and the general public will also have the
opportunity to listen to the conference call over the Internet by visiting
www.drg-e.com. To listen to the live call on the web, please visit the web site
at least fifteen minutes before the call begins to register, download and
install any necessary audio software. For those who cannot listen to the live
web cast, an archive will be available shortly after the call and will remain
available for approximately 30 days at www.drg-e.com.

         Powell Industries, Inc., headquartered in Houston, TX, designs,
manufactures and services equipment and systems for the management and control
of electrical energy and other critical processes. Powell provides products and
services to the transportation, environmental, industrial and utility
industries. For more information, please visit www.powellind.com.



Any forward-looking statements in the preceding paragraphs of this release are
made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward looking statements
involve risks and uncertainty in that actual results may differ materially from
those projected in the forward looking statements. In the course of operations,
we are subject to certain risk factors, including but not limited to competition
and competitive pressures, sensitivity to general economic and industrial
conditions, international political and economic risks, availability and price
of raw materials and execution of business strategy. For further information,
please refer to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, copies of which are available from the Company without charge.

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