After the economic crisis, which had a marginal effect on the power generation industry, the automation and software solutions market in the electric power generation sector continued to grow. While the capital expenditure trend grew strongly from 2006 until 2008, it went down significantly in 2009 due to the global economic crisis. However, the investment activities resurged in 2010 and 2011. Developed economies have increased their investment in grid modernization while emerging economies have continued to build new electricity infrastructure. China's projects in this sector are ambitious and farsighted.