What do and what should our digital revenue meters measure

on distorted networks?
Dr. Andrs Dn Dvid Raisz
Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Electric Power Engineering

II.POWER CONSIDERATIONS ON DISTORTED

Abstract This paper deals with power formulations and NETWORKS
energy considerations of non-sinusoidal systems. It is proved
in the paper that the so-called distortion power has no Harmonic currents tend to flow along the
physical meaning, and there is no need to take it into minimum impedance loop. If this current path
consideration. Simple patterns will underline these
statements. Furthermore the novel IEC recommendation of consists of resistance, harmonic active power
digital energy meters to measure the active energy should be (loss) will arise.
revised. There are different digital energy meters on the Generally speaking the harmonic active power
market. Results of laboratory tests are given on the accuracy
of energy meters from different manufacturers. on the network can be calculated as Ph = P P1
Keywords: harmonic power, power quality, energy meter where
accuracy 1
T

I. INTRODUCTION
P uidt (1)
T0
As it is well known the last decade of the 20 th 1
T

T 0
century power engineers will remember as the P1 u 1i 1dt (2)
decade of application of power electronics in
power systems. Low voltage and high voltage Assume that the voltage and the current consist
systems are loaded with non-linear consumers, of more different frequency sinusoidal
distorting the voltage of the supply system. The components (kf and mf, where k and m are
loads consume energy and they have to pay for whole numbers).
it. However the watt-hour meters are considered The time functions of u and i can be expanded in
to measure power of sinusoidal voltage and Fourier series and consequently the time function
current. The relating standard IEC 61036: 2000 of the instantaneous power p = ui consists of
[1] does not think on the practice when gives the different type of trigonometrical function
reference conditions. The watt-hour meters multiplications. Below the typical results of the
should comply with their classification under time integral of the different type trigonometrical
certain circumstances, like cos = 1, functions are discussed. There are 3 different
fundamental voltage is nominal, fundamental types to be investigated:
2
current is between given limit values, the
harmonic content of the voltage and current is
A. cos kt cos mtd t
0
(3)

between given limits. However especially the 2

harmonic current limits are much lower than B. sin kt cos mtd t (4)
they occur in the practice. 0
2
Several authors published results on the revenue
meter accuracy [2], [3], [4]. The results in these C. sin kt sin mtd t
0
(5)
papers do not cover the effect of a wide range of
k = m and k m where k, m = 0, 1, 2, .
possible harmonic distortion. In the present paper
the authors try to give a summary on the effect of First consider type A expressions:
cos kt cos mt
the possible harmonic distortions on the accuracy
1
of the revenue meters. cos k m t cos k m t 6
Another important issue is the definition of 2
harmonic power. Most of the papers discuss the Regarding the boundaries if k m, then both
problem from point of view of compensation [5] parts give zero. If k = m (k 0), then the second
and [6]. part results in
This paper tries to go back to the basics and 1 1
cos k m t (7)
discusses the energy balance of the network, 2 2
including the energy represented by harmonics. and the result of the integral:

1
 2
1 1 U 12 U 2k ,
d t t 0
2

2 U eff (11)
(8)
2 0 2 h 2

If k = 0 and m = 0, then the integral of both 2
I eff I12 I 2m (12)
parties of eq.6 gives , the sum is 2. m2

2
U eff I eff
2
U 12 U 2k I12 I 2m
Regarding type B : k2 m2
sin kt cos mt

1 U 12 I12 U 12 I 2m U 2k I 2m I12 U 2k (13)

sin k m t sin k m t (9) m2 k2 m2 k 2
2
U 2
I 2
The result is zero for all k and m. eff
2 2
eff

U I 1 1

Regarding type C: 1 THD 2I THD 2U THD 2I THD 2U (14)

sin kt sin mt
where U 12 I12 S12
is the fundamental apparent
1
cos k m t cos k m t (10) power
2 If the short circuit power is infinite, THD U = 0
this is -1 times the result of eq. 6. and
Looking at type A, if k=m the result of
S2
cos(k+m)t will be a double frequency 1 THD I2 (15)
S12
component cos2kt, and cos(k-m)t gives the
average which is the center of the double The product U 1 I m 0
2 2
and accordingly
frequency swing. If k m, the average will be
m 2

zero, because of the cos(k-m)t. I 12 U k2 0 ,

k 2
The cases k m mean that the frequency of the
however according to the integral these products
voltage and current components is different
yield zero.
neither active nor reactive power can be
The product of the harmonic RMS voltage and
interpreted because the integral
2
current results in greater value than the product
cos kt cos mtd t results in zero. of the equal harmonic orders
0

At fundamental frequency supply the apparent
power gives the quantity characteristic to the
U I
k 2
2
k
m 2
2
m U
k 2
2
k I k2

sizing of the equipment. Because the active and

reactive powers are orthogonal, the apparent Conclusion: the equation S2 = P2 + Q2 is not
power can be calculated with the well-known applicable in case of distorted signals to calculate
equation: the reactive power, when S and P are measured.
S2 = P2 + Q 2 Turning back to eq. (14), regarding the real
However in case of distorted voltage and current values of the THDU, the THDU2 -terms can be
this kind of equation can be utilized only neglected and receive again
harmonics by harmonics, because the cases k
m result in zero. S2 P12 Q12 D 2
The apparent like power formally can be 1 THD 2
I (16)
calculated (S = UeffIeff), but it has no physical S12 P12 Q12
meaning, it is not characteristic to the sizing of D2
1 2 1 THD 2I (17)
the equipment (e.g. capacitor, transformer, S1
motor). The cases k m result in zero, but the D S1 THD I (18)
RMS product includes all frequency components. Actually D is a measure of the current distortion,
The statement can follow introducing the THD but weighted with the fundamental apparent
definition for the k-th and m-th harmonic orders: power.
If the goal is to punish the distorting consumer it

2
is a better way to determine its real current
contribution to the distortion.
Simple examples are given in the Appendix to
prove the above-mentioned statement.
On Fig. A1 the clean initial situation is shown
with a resistive load supplied by a single-phase
AC voltage generator through a bridge (resistive
network).
Regarding Fig. A3 a dominant nonlinear load is
considered. The result is, that the fundamental
power received by the load includes the
harmonic power (generated by the nonlinear
load) as well.
Fig. A5 of the Appendix shows a non-dominant
nonlinear consumer. The 3rd harmonic voltage
distortion is determined by another nonlinear
load. Due to this situation, the originally 3rd
harmonic generator load will consume 3rd
harmonic power from the network, and this will
be converted to useful energy on the DC-side.
The 5th harmonic current is not compensated,
therefore the 5th harmonic power of the nonlinear
load remains negative.
Therefore the consumed fundamental frequency
power will be less than without the 3 rd harmonic
compensation. In this case the positive consumed
power is the quantity that should be considered
PCP Re U h I h if Re U h I h 0 Voltage: single phase or symmetric three-phase,
h 1
to calculate the consumed energy. The positive
consumed power is the sum of the positive
harmonic powers:
This consumed power (energy) definition
includes the additional harmonic losses, caused
by the nonlinear loads of the network, as well as
the consumed harmonic energy that will be
converted into useful energy on the load-side.
Fig. A2, A4 and A6 show the fundamental and
harmonic power flows in case of the initial
situation and in case of dominant and non-
dominant nonlinear loads.
III. CONCLUSIONS OF THE THEORETICAL
INVESTIGATIONS
1. The watt-hour meters should measure the
positive consumed power including the
harmonic power as well.
2. Instead of the distortion power the harmonic
current distortion should be introduced as the
base of a penalty factor to be introduced
against distorting loads.
3. To measure the current distortion, the
monoparameter variation based separation
method [7] should be used.
IV. TESTS OF ENERGY METER ACCURACY ON
DISTORTED NETWORKS
In this section an approval of the results of the
theoretical investigations is given. Two kinds of
tests were carried out: the first one was a
systematic procedure with different harmonic
distortions and different harmonic powers. In the
second one on-site test measurements were
implemented as actual signals.
In both test series the equipment used to supply
the energy meters was an OMICRON relay test
generator used in energy meter test mode. The
signals generated with OMICRON were
observed and checked by TRANSANAL-16
multichannel measuring equipment. (See Fig.1.)
Fig. 1. Test arrangement
A) Settings for the systematic sensitivity
analysis
Fundamental frequency
nominal values for the meters: 230V or 100V
Current: 0.5x In, e.g. 0.5A or 2.5A
Power factor: tg = 0.2 and 0.4
Harmonic content
Voltage distortion: 0%, 5% for the actual
harmonic
Current distortion: 0%, 25%, 50%, 100% for the
actual harmonic
Phase shift between harmonic voltage and
current: 0, 180, 90
Phase shift between the initial phases of the
fundamental and harmonic voltage: 0, 45.
Harmonic orders for voltage and current
simultaneously: one of the 3, 5, 13, 23 orders.
One set of measurements is carried out using one
harmonic order.
B) Investigations using real measured
waveforms
The second type of measurements have been
3
carried out applying distorted voltage and current
waveforms to the OMICRON generator
according to the spectra of previously on-site
recorded signals. These measurements however
involved only those four meters that turned out to
be the most accurate during the above-mentioned
sensitivity investigations.
The waveforms were obtained from data
recorded at a big LV consumer supplied from
MV.
V. CLASSIFICATION OF THE WATT-HOUR
METERS BASED ON THE SYSTEMATIC
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
Type A: This meter measures in the presence
of harmonic distortion practically in every case
both active and reactive energy inaccurate.
Type B: Measures reactive energy falsely in
the presence of 23rd harmonics, and the active
energy measurement in this case is less accurate
compared to the other cases. Having harmonic
loads with harmonic order less than 23rd the
active energy measurement is correct, while from
the reactive energy measurements one can
conclude that this meter is programmed not to
measure harmonic reactive energy. The presence
of harmonic reactive energy has in some cases
strong influence on the measured reactive energy.
Setting harmonic reactive energy to zero leads to
an accurate measurement of reactive energy.
Type C: The active energy measurement was
correct in all investigated cases. From the
columns containing greater reactive energy
values it can be seen that the meter is not
supposed to measure harmonic reactive energy.
However, in the columns containing smaller Q
values the error is between 5-10 %. Setting
harmonic reactive energy to zero leads to an
accurate measurement of reactive energy.
Type D: In the presence of 3rd and 5th
harmonics the active energy measurement was
correct, but not in the presence of 13 th and 23rd
harmonics. The harmonic reactive energy is not
measured correctly.
Type E: The active energy measurement was
correct in all cases except the one with 23rd
harmonics. Here the harmonic active energy is
not measured, but the fundamental active energy
is measured correctly. From the measured values
it can be observed that the harmonic reactive
energy is not measured at all. It can be stated that
the reactive energy is measured correctly in case
of all investigated harmonics.
Type F: From the measured values it can be
observed that the harmonic reactive energy is not
measured at all. It can be stated that the reactive
energy is measured correctly in case of all
investigated harmonics. The active energy
measurement can be called inaccurate only in
case of the 23rd harmonics. Here the fundamental
frequency reactive energy is measured as well,
but with a higher error than at harmonics of
lower order.
Type G: The active energy measurement is
correct in all cases, at every harmonic order. The
reactive energy measurement is incorrect in all
cases, at every harmonic order. Apparently the
reactive energy measuring algorithm is faulty.
VI. SPECTRA OF THE APPLIED VOLTAGE AND
CURRENT WAVEFORMS IN CASE OF REAL,
PRE-RECORDED SIGNALS ALONG WITH THE
MEASURED ENERGY VALUES
Remarkable errors can be expected in cases of
highly distorted current and voltage signals of
LV loads, depending on the level of distortion.
The power measurement error is further
increased if the voltage from which the
synchronizing signal is obtained, has more zero-
crossings due to its harmonic content.
The distortion of the signals in the example can
be considered as typical at LV. The four best
meters according to the systematic analysis
measured the active energy with a negative error
of 1-1.5 % due to the distortion, compared to the
values measured in mere fundamental frequency
conditions.
The reactive energy measurement showed a little
error only in case of the meter type D, all other
meters reading values were equal to those at the
fundamental frequency case.
VII. CONCLUSIONS ARISING FROM THE
MEASUREMENTS
The accuracy of the energy measurement in case
of distorted signals can change depending on the
level of distortion and the harmonic frequency.
4
The measurement error will increase if the
amplitude and frequency of the distorting
harmonic signal increases.
The utility companies are vitally concerned by
the harmonic distortion of dominant nonlinear
loads. The energy measured at the consumer is
less than the energy computed from the
fundamental frequency signals, the difference is
equal to the harmonic energy loss in the network.
However the generators cover this loss, and the
distributing company has to pay for it at the HV
revenue metering points.
So regarding the standard in power the utility
company buys the harmonic losses but does not
sell them to the customer, although he could do
so by charging for positive consumed energy
instead of total energy. The harmonic network
loss caused by a dominant nonlinear load differs
from the fundamental frequency network loss so
that the former can be measured at the PCC of
the load while the latter cannot.
In the case of non-dominant nonlinear consumers
the harmonic power can also be positive (see
Appendix), which means that the consumer
converts harmonic power to power needed for
his own technology. That is why the positive
consumed energy is recommended to be
considered instead of the total power (see also
Appendix).
The conclusions drawn from the theoretical
investigations coincide with those arising from
the laboratory analysis.
VIII. CONCLUSIONS
1. A solution has to be found, which ensures
both in case of dominant and non-dominant
consumers, that the consumer pays the
energy-equivalent of the harmonic network
losses and the consumed harmonic power.
The most reasonable solution would be, if the
norm was modified, so that the meters
measure the positive consumed energy
calculated for all harmonics.
2. As long as the norm does not dispose like
above, it would be useful to prescribe the
proposed measuring algorithm in the tenders.
3. As concerning the reactive energy, the
measurement of the fundamental frequency
component of the reactive energy is proposed
to be prescribed.
4. Concerning the distortion caused by the
nonlinear load it would be useful to involve
in the measurements the current distortion
and penalize above a certain level. Of course,
in such a case the harmonic content of the
current caused by an individual load has to be
determined with great certainty.
IX. REFERENCES
[1] IEC 61036:1996+A1 2000, Alternating Current Watthour meters for
active energy (Classes 1 and 2)
[2] P.S. Filipski and P.W. Labaj: Evaluation of Reactive Power Meters
in the Presence of High Harmonic Distortion, IEEE Trans. on Power
Delivery, Vol.7, No.4, pp. 1793-1799, Oct. 1992
[3] R. Arsenau, P.S. Filipski: Application of a Three Phase
Nonsinusoidal Calibration System for Testing energy and Demand
Meters Under Simulated Field Conditions, IEEE. Trans. on Power
Delivery, Vol.3, No.3, pp.874-879, July 1988
[4] D.L. Lubkeman et.al: Automated Testing of Solid-State Watthour
Meters in the Presence of Harmonic Distortion, Proc. of the ICHPS
V, Sept. 23-25, 1992, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, pp.345-351
[5] M. Depenbrock: The FBD-Method, a Generally Applicable Tool for
Analyzing Power Relations, Proc. of the ICHPS V, Sept. 23-25,
1992, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, pp. 135-141
[6] D.A. Marshall et.al: A Comparative Evaluation of Power Theories,
Proc. of the ICHPS V, Sept. 23-25, 1992, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, pp.
142-150
[7] A.M. Dan: Identification of Individual Distorting Loads and
Evaluating their Harmonic Emission Level: Method of Mono-
parameter Variation, Proceedings of the 7th IASTED International
Multi-Conference, Palm Sprins, California, USA, 2003, pp-. 471.
X. AUTHORS
Univ.Doz. Dr. Andrs Dn (dan@vmt.bme.hu)
Dvid Raisz MSc. (raisz@vmt.bme.hu)
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Dept. of Electric Power Systems,
Power Systems and Environment Group
Egry Jozsef u. 18. 1111 Budapest, Hungary
Tel.: (+36 1) 463 3019 , Fax: (+36 1) 463 3013
XI. APPENDIX
The harmonic active and reactive power is
supplied by the generator. The so-called
distortion reactive power is actually proportional
to the current distortion.
i
RN = 4
UG UL RDC = 40
Fig. A1 Initial situation
UG = 311 V, UL = 283 V,
PG = 1100 W, PL total = 1000 W, PL 1 = 1000 W, PDC
= 1000 W, PN = 100 W, QG = 0.3 Var
5
 iG iL
Rectifier RDC = 40
RN = 4
UL
Generator Network Load
UG

PL1 PDC I
CDC = 10 000 F
PG
PN1
Fig. A5 Non-dominant nonlinear load

UG = 239 V, UL = 200 V, THDUL = 14 %

I = 12.5 A, 0o ; 150 Hz
Fig. A2 Power flows in case of the initial situation, zero (3rd harmonic overcompensation)
harmonic power
THDIG = 70 %, THDIL = 93 %
i
RDC = 40
PG = 1161 W , PDC = 1000.7 W
RN = 4
PL 1 = 972 W, PL 3 = + 74 W, PL 5 = -40 W,
PL total = 1000.7 W
UG UL
PN 1 = 189 W, PN 3 = 47 W, PN 5 = 40 W,
CDC = 10 000 F PN total = 282 W

QL 1 = -8 VAr, QL 3 = -4 VAr, DL = 921 VA,

Fig. A3 Dominant nonlinear load DG = 816 VA
(Quantities of load calculated from UL and iL.)
UG = 266 V, UL = 228 V, THDUL = 11 % Rectifier
I (3) = 6 A : -178o I(5) = 1.9 A : 3.4o
I RMS = 8.1 A, THDI = 68 %, Generator Network Load

PG = 1264 W, PDC = 1000 W PL1 PDC

PL 1 = 1084 W, PL 3 = -74 W, PL 5 = -7 W, PG PN1
PL total = 1000 W
PN 1 = 180 W, PN 3 = 74W, PN 5 = 7 W, PLh
PN total = 264 W

QL 1 = -13 Var, QL 3 = 0.03 Var

DL = 751 VA, DG = 859 VA, DN = 0 VA
Fig. A6 Power flows in case of a non-dominant nonlinear
load (Positive harmonic power)
Rectifier
Generator Network Load

PL1 PDC
PG
PN1 PLh
PNh

Fig. A4 Power flows in case of a dominant nonlinear load

(Negative harmonic power)