To keep track of energy used by plant equipment such as transformers and breakers, and to be alerted to any problems with the equipment, generation plant operators need reliable and accurate metering. The utility metering data must also be communicated to the power management system utilized by the plant.

EIG’s extensive line of power and energy meters offer full utility metering capability as well as advanced power quality analysis. EIG’s panel meters can easily be installed into existing cutouts for a simple retrofit. In addition to offering both real time and logging of all power and energy parameters, the meters provide load aggregation/universal metering to aggregate or accumulate different loads with pulse inputs so utility products such as gas and water can also be accumulated. The meters also offer relay outputs for control applications, for example, when monitoring turbines.

For integration of utility metering data with existing SCADA and other energy management systems, EIG meters have extensive communication options. Depending on the specific EIG meter, the following communication modes are available:

Depending on the specific mode, the following communication protocols are supported:

*LTE is a trademark of ETSI.

EIG offers advanced power and energy meters that meet the highest standards of energy management accuracy. Use our meters to digitize information from substations and critical points on the transmission lines. This information provides a voltage reference for all metered points that is easily communicated to the transmission SCADA or other systems. This voltage reference information is crucial for maintaining transmission system voltage reliability.

To support transmission substation automation, EIG’s power and energy meters support Modbus serial, Modbus over Ethernet, and DNP 3.0 for substation communication. Many EIG meters also support IEC 61850 for seamless integration into substation automation applications. The Nexus^® 1450 and 1500+ meters also offer GOOSE reporting that can be used to capture waveform events from many different areas of the electrical grid. This capability supports post-event analysis, as well as real time awareness of conditions on the grid.

To help utilities service their critical customers and any distribution-connected renewable energy sources, EIG offers advanced revenue meters that meet the highest standards for energy management accuracy. Revenue metering capabilities include full four quadrant metering, energy load profiling with the ability to log virtually unlimited historical trending, transformer and line loss compensation for iron/copper and total substation losses, and CT/PT compensation to correct for errors in current and voltage transformers. Additionally, EIG’s revenue meters provide load aggregation/universal metering to aggregate or accumulate different loads with pulse inputs so utility products such as gas and water can also be accumulated.

For distribution customers with existing SCADA systems, EIG meters have extensive communication options for integration into those systems. Depending on the specific EIG meter, the following communication modes are available:

Depending on the specific mode, the following communication protocols are supported:

*LTE is a trademark of ETSI.

Utilities must ensure voltage compatibility between renewable energy sources and the grid voltage. Additionally, power factor, frequency, and harmonics are critical parameters for electrical utilities to monitor to maintain power reliability. High-accuracy revenue and power quality meters address both the need for ensuring compatibility and maintaining power quality.

Electrical utilities are mandated to keep their voltage levels within a specified range. For example, to be compatible with the utility’s voltage requirements, the solar installation must inject current in such a way that it doesn’t affect the voltage in the distribution line, e.g., cause a rise in voltage. Being able to monitor the voltage and current characteristics in real time allows utilities to ensure voltage compatibility.

Since solar-generated energy is DC, inverters are used to change the current to the AC that the grid uses. However, older inverters can add harmonics to the grid, consequently lessening power quality and reliability. Meters that provide real time power quality data at the point of delivery can be used to monitor and ensure that harmonics are not being introduced to the grid by renewable sources. Limit alarms set on voltage levels, harmonic magnitudes, and power factor can enable utilities to take immediate action, e.g., stopping the renewable source from adding current if the grid voltage is in danger of rising too high or if power factor is being negatively affected.

When renewables such as solar are connected to the distribution grid, they can both deliver energy to the grid and receive energy from it, depending on factors such as the time of day, when the sun isn’t shining and when there is not enough stored energy for their system. Both receiving and delivering must be monitored by high accuracy revenue metering, to ensure proper compensation for both the utility and the renewable energy operation. Placing a revenue meter on both the renewables’ feeder meter and recloser and the utility’s feeder meter and recloser allows the usage data to be reconciled. Additionally, there are contractual limits on the amount of energy that can be delivered from a renewable source and the quality of that energy, as discussed previously. A specific measure that renewables would want to monitor is VARs, since utilities may pay them for VARs they inject into the system. On the other hand, if there are too many voltage sags and swells that the utility believes are caused by the renewable source, they will drop the renewable connection. Metering data can show how often the renewables have been dropped and whether the utility’s restriction was appropriate. If it was not, the renewable operation may be entitled to compensation from the utility. In the case of wind farms, most of which are connected to transmission lines, the wind farm operators receive tax credits based on the amount of energy generated per site. This is a definite incentive for them to employ accurate metering.

EIG offers advanced revenue meters that meet the highest standards for energy management accuracy. Revenue metering capabilities include full four quadrant metering, energy load profiling with the ability to log virtually unlimited historical trending, transformer and line loss compensation for iron/copper and total substation losses, and CT/PT compensation to correct for errors in current and voltage transformers.