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.;
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|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;
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|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;
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|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:
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|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;
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|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
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|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
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|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):
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|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
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|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.
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| | Date:  March 1, 2004/s/      THOMAS W. POWELL      
 Thomas W. Powell
 President & Chief Executive Officer
 (Principal Executive Officer)