Facta universitatis - series: Electronics and Energetics 2015 Volume 28, Issue 3, Pages: 407-421
https://doi.org/10.2298/FUEE1503407S
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Utility needs smarter power meters in order to reduce economic losses
Stevanović Dejan (Innovation Centre of Advanced Technology (ICNT), Niš)
Petković Predrag (Faculty of Electronic Engineering, Niš)
Whenever the delivered power is greater than the sum of the registered power
at points of common coupling (PCC) the utility will have losses. This paper
will show that even in an ideal case, without any abuse of users, the losses
occur due to inadequate measurement equipment and to deficient billing
policy. Namely, common household power meters register only active energy,
while power meters for industrial applications register reactive energy as
well. Consequently, the billing policy is based only at one or both values.
This approach does not follow the change of the end-user load profile that
becomes very nonlinear. Actually, the current trough nonlinear load deviates
from sine waveform causing that a part of the delivered power remains
invisible for the power distribution system. Therefore, the utility registers
significant economic losses. To solve this problem we recommend distortion
power to be measured and included into the billing policy. It has not been
the case so far because the electric power community has not been aware of
the amount of the distortion power in the contemporary grid. Besides, power
meters have not been able to measure it. This paper demonstrates how to
overcome the obstacle with a minor modification of ordinary electronic power
meters. The proposed solution is verified by a set of measurements on
different types of loads that are commonly used in households and offices.
Keywords: Electronic meters, harmonics, distortion power, utility losses
Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR32004