Fair Power Factor Billing Under Unbalanced and Nonsinusoidal Voltage Supply

Utilities apply an additional fee for medium and large customers with low power factors. However, unfair financial charges may occur in installations subjected to voltage unbalance and harmonic distortion. The objective of this paper is to determine the fairest PF definitions and their corresponding measurement algorithms in the case in which a constant impedance load or an induction motor is supplied with unbalanced and nonsinusoidal voltages. Fairness is defined considering that the meter (built based on a particular definition and measurement method) under nonideal supply should lead to very close values as if it was submitted to an ideal balanced sinusoidal supply. We performed computational simulations to emulate several conditions in which a balanced customer (modeled as a constant impedance load or an induction motor) is charged due to a voltage supply no longer balanced and sinusoidal. We also performed experimental tests with an induction motor subjected to a wide range of unbalanced nonsinusoidal supply conditions to ratify the conclusions drawn from the simulations. Based on the simulation results and the experimental tests, we indicate some power factor definitions and measurement methods that are not significantly affected by voltage unbalance and harmonic distortions. These indicated PF definitions provide the fairest billing for conditions with unbalanced nonsinusoidal voltages.