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                                                                    EXHIBIT 31.1

                                                       CERTIFICATION

I, Thomas W. Powell, certify that:

          1.   I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Powell
               Industries, Inc.;

          2.   Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
               statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
               necessary to make the statements made, in light of the
               circumstances under which such statements were made, not
               misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

          3.   Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
               financial information included in this report, fairly present in
               all material respects the financial condition, results of
               operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the
               periods presented in this report;

          4.   The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible
               for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and
               procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and
               15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

               a)   designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused
                    such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under
                    our supervision, to ensure that material information
                    relating to the registrant, including its consolidated
                    subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
                    entities, particularly during the period in which this
                    report is being prepared;

               b)   evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
                    controls and procedures and presented in this report our
                    conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure
                    controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered
                    by this report based on such evaluation; and

               c)   disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's
                    internal control over financial reporting (as defined in
                    Exchange Act Rules 13-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) that occurred
                    during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the
                    registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual
                    report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably
                    likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal
                    control over financial reporting, and

          5.   The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed,
               based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over
               financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit
               committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons
               performing the equivalent functions):

               a)   all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
                    design or operation of internal control over financial
                    reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect
                    the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and
                    report financial information; and

               b)   any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
                    or other employees who have a significant role in the
                    registrant's internal control over financial reporting.


                                           Date:  August 29, 2003


                                           /s/   THOMAS W. POWELL
                                           -------------------------------------
                                           Thomas W. Powell,
                                           President and Chief Executive Officer
                                           (Principal Executive Officer)