Application of IEEE standard 519-1992 harmonic limits for revenue billing meters

This paper identifies the potential for billing inequities at harmonic generating loads due to different measuring methods implemented in revenue meters. Potential problems are almost exclusively in the commercial and industrial sectors where demand and power factor charges are common. The performance of revenue meters presently in use and two new proposed methods has been investigated for test waveforms based on field recorded data at six commercial and industrial sites. The field data have been analyzed to indicate compliance with the voltage and current distortion limits of the new IEEE Standard 519-1992 thus linking the performance of current and future revenue meters to the Standard. Results of tests on three energy meters and two apparent power meters have shown that compliance with IEEE Standard 519-1992 voltage and current distortion limits will promote equity of energy, demand and power factor charges for all customers for currently used revenue meters. Compliance with only the voltage distortion limits of IEEE Standard 519-1992 results in relatively low harmonic power at the load and enhances equity of energy billings of the customers. For the loads investigated, violation of the current distortion limits of IEEE 519-1992 could result in differences of up to 5 percent for the demand and power factor charges depending on the definitions implemented in the revenue meters used at the sites where the violations occurs. The differences would be much larger (for example 12,238 VA to 2305 VA) when new proposed harmonically adjusted power factor and apparent power methods of accounting for harmonics in billing are considered. These large differences indicate that the choice of weighting factor will be crucial for harmonically adjusted power factor or apparent power measuring methods. Adherence to IEEE Standard 519-1992 will reduce harmonics in the system and system losses related to the current harmonics. It will also promote fair and equal revenue billing of all customers connected on the system.