This full text paper was peer-reviewed at the direction of IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society prior to the
acceptance and publication.
The Harmonic Impact Project – IEEE-1459
Power Definitions Trialed in Revenue Meters
Andrew J Berrisford, Member, IEEE
Abstract—Most meter specifications presently do not define
accuracy requirements in the presence of harmonics. Meter
designs could therefore use different definitions or algorithms
that produce different measurements in the presence of
harmonics. Smart Grid environments with Distributed
Generation could have significant levels of distortion, and
revenue meters must be able to distinguish between the energy
traded at 60 Hz (50Hz) and harmonics. The IEEE-1459 Standard
provides a power definition model that is ideal for revenue
metering. Efforts to revise Canadian meter specifications to cater
for harmonic-rich environments have been hampered by several
factors, including a lack of empirical data on the magnitude of
the problem and concerns that present meter technology could
not address the problem cost-effectively. BC Hydro initiated the
Harmonic Impact Project (HIP) to show that off-the-shelf smart
meters could implement the proposed definitions, and to obtain
and evaluate empirical field data based on several power
definitions. The HIP project confirms that these metering
inequities exist and that their magnitude can be significant. The
project also confirms that the IEEE-1459 fundamental-only
power definitions are suitable for revenue metering and can be
implemented by present meter technology.
Index Terms— Revenue Metering, Power Definitions, Harmonics,
IEEE 1459-2010
I. INTRODUCTION
T he electricity distribution industry is evolving from a
single source, sinusoidal system to a network where
nonlinear loads or generators are possible on either side of
the revenue meters. The implications for future metering
requirements are far-reaching. Meters will need to cater for
bidirectional power flow and have power quality monitoring
capabilities. The meter will have to separate the product being
traded – 60Hz (or 50Hz) energy – from the pollution power
being produced by modern electronic loads and generators.
Most meter specifications in use today were originally
developed for electromechanical meters in an era that assumed
sinusoidal voltage and current. They do not include tests for
accuracy under non-sinusoidal conditions. Modern electronic
meters can implement any definition or algorithm that works
under sinusoidal conditions and meet the specification
requirements. These different methods could produce different
readings when monitoring real-world loads or generators that
produce harmonic distortion. Theoretical studies and
A. J. Berrisford is with BC Hydro Customer and Energy Analytics,
Burnaby, BC, Canada (e-mail: Andrew.Berrisford@bchydro.com).
978-1-5386-2222-3/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE
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laboratory tests [1-5], and a few examples in the field [6-8]
indicated that the errors introduced by severe distortion could
result in differences up to 3% for active energy (kWh).
Modern digital ‘Smart’ meters could eliminate these errors by
digitally filtering the harmonic energy from the total energy
(P), and therefore registering only the 60Hz energy supplied or
purchased (P1).
Most varh meters in the field today apply algorithms to
approximate either the Budeanu definition (Q B), that sums the
reactive components at different frequencies [9], or the Fryze
definition (QF) that derives reactive power as the orthogonal
difference between apparent power S and active power P [10].
Where harmonics are present, the difference between QB and
QF can be large, often over 50% and sometimes several
hundred percent.
As with watts and vars, VA can be defined as inclusive of
harmonic content (S) or excluding harmonics (S1). Most
meters today implement S, which can be significantly higher
(over 15%) than S1 where severe distortion exists. Meters
should measure S for equipment capacity requirements and S 1
for revenue metering purposes.
II. BACKGROUND
Electricity meters in Canada are regulated by Measurement
Canada (MC), and must comply with MC specifications. MC
became aware of the harmonics inequity issue several years
ago, and initiated a Joint Working Group (JWG) with
Canadian electricity industry stakeholders via the Canadian
Electricity Association (CEA) in 2006, to resolve several
issues with the specification, including the inequities due to
harmonics. The JWG reported in 2008 [11] a preference for
fundamental-only metering, as in IEEE-1459 [12], but was
hampered by several problems, including:
1) There were different ideas about appropriate solutions
among academic experts. The IEEE-1459 definitions were
not supported unanimously.
2) There was a lack of empirical data on the extent and
severity of the inequity problem.
3) There was a lack of readily available meters that could
measure the magnitude of the problem.
 4) There were meter manufacturers claiming that filtering
could not be done cost-effectively.
5) Utilities were concerned about the impact of the filtering
solution on customer bills.
6) Utilities wanted a means of recovering costs associated
with harmonics injected into their systems.
7) There is no money in the solution for any party.
Eliminating the inequity allocates electricity costs among
customers more fairly than before, but does not result in
additional income for utilities or profit for manufacturers.
A new JWG was established in 2012 to resolve the
outstanding specification issues, and by 2014 they had
solutions for all except harmonics. The HIP Project has
provided the JWG with answers to some of the concerns about
fundamental-only metering.
Concerns about ignoring the effects of harmonics in
metering are widespread [see for example 13, 14], and the
standards organizations are responding. The OIML R46 [16],
issued in 2012, was the first meter specification to introduce a
comprehensive set of tests for harmonics. While R46 clearly
identifies harmonics as an influence quantity that should not
affect the quantity measured, it can also be interpreted to
include harmonics in the measured quantity. The OIML TC12
is aware of this ambiguity and is expected to have it resolved
in a forthcoming revision. The IEC adopted fundamental-only
for varh meters [15] in 2014.
To answer these questions, commercial Smart meters had to
be reprogrammed to measure the desired quantities, and then
installed alongside regular Smart meters for several months.
The data from both meters at each site were then compared
and analyzed. The Vision Smart Meter was selected for this
project because it had been used previously as a platform for a
research project, and it used a metering chip that met our
needs for reprogramming to apply IEEE-1459 power
definitions. The HIP meters measure P, P1, QB, QF, Q1, S, S1,
THDV and THDI.
The original scope of the project was to install
reprogrammed Vision meters, in series/parallel with the Smart
revenue meters, at 10 residential sites, 10 single phase
commercial sites, and 10 three phase industrial sites for a year.
During the project this scope was reduced to accommodate
resource constraints, but nevertheless the project yielded
enough data to confirm that the meters could implement the
new power definitions, and that the empirical data supported
the theoretical results of earlier laboratory tests.
During the HIP Project data collection period, BC Hydro
installed several hundred GE KV2c meters at sites with a
480V delta service. The KV2c meters can meter P and P1
separately, and this capability was used to obtain additional
data on the difference between P and P1 measurements. These
KV2c meters provided a third set of comparisons between P
and P1 measurements.

III. THE HARMONIC IMPACT PROJECT IV. THE HIP METER DESIGN

The Harmonic Impact Project (HIP) was initiated by BC Most modern Smart Meters, essentially digital meters with
communications capability, contain a Digital Signal Processor
Hydro to provide answers to some of the above problems; in
(DSP) for metrology and one or more additional processors for
particular to prove that present metering technology can
handling the metering, communications, and security
implement fundamental-only power definitions and to obtain
functions.
empirical data to compare traditional P, Q, and S meter
readings to IEEE-1459 P1, Q1, and S1 readings, from 30
diverse consumers. The goals of the HIP project included
answering the following questions:

1) Can present meter technology implement IEEE-1459

power definitions cost-effectively?

2) What would the bill impact be if meters register only

the fundamental energy component as proposed in the IEEE
-1459 Standard?

3) Do the empirical data support the theory that harmonic

generating loads get an unfair discount from “total
harmonic” meters?

4) Conversely, do customers that absorb harmonic power

get penalized for providing this service?
Fig. 1 – Architecture of a Vision Smart Meter
5) Do the IEEE 1459 power definitions resolve the kVAr
and kVA metering differences consistently?

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 Sometimes this functionality is incorporated into a single
chip. The 71M65xx family of chips by Maxim is used by
several meter manufacturers. The DSP in these metering chips
can be reprogrammed to provide measurements based on
different definitions. Fig. 1 shows the basic architecture of the
Vision FM2S meter.
The author has described the modifications to the Vision
meter firmware, as well as the testing of the revised program
in a previous paper [17]. The modifications were applied to
single phase meters suitable for residential customers, as well
as three phase meters for industrial loads. HIP meters were
installed at four residential sites to evaluate the billing impacts
of using fundamental power components, and nine industrial
sites likely to have nonlinear loads.
V. THE RESIDENTIAL HIP METER FIELD TRIAL
After the HIP meters had been installed for a year, the data
from both HIP and revenue meters were analyzed. The
following tests were carried out:
1) A comparison between the total energy P registered by
the revenue meters and the total energy P registered by the
HIP meters. The figures were within 0.4% of each other for
each month for each meter. The HIP meter therefore
registers total energy P within the error limits of 0.5%
claimed for both the revenue meter and the HIP meter.
Figure 2 shows the comparison for one site.
Figure 2 –SMI and HIP meter comparison of P
2) A comparison was made between the total energy P and
the fundamental energy P1 recorded by the HIP meters at
each site for each calendar month.
i) At two of the four sites (H-001 and H-002), the voltage
THD was consistently under 3% and the current THD
was under 10%. At these sites, the difference between P
and P1 was under 0.1%, with the customer usually
generating harmonic energy – ie: P1 was greater than P.
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ii) The third site (H-005) had low voltage and current
distortion levels as at the previous two sites, however the
customer was absorbing harmonic energy from the
distribution system, with a difference between P and P1
usually between 0.1% and 0.2%.
iii) The fourth site (H-003) was a ‘modern’ home, with a
lot of electronics, very efficient loads, and natural gas
heated, usually generating harmonic energy into the
distribution system. This home had voltage THD
consistently under 3% and significant current distortion
with THD often in the 40% to 60% range. The difference
between P and P1 at this site varied between 0.1% and
0.2%, with the customer usually generating harmonic
energy.
3) Comparisons of reactive energy metered using different
definitions indicated that, for the three sites with low
distortion levels (H-001, H-002, and H-005), the values for
Budeanu’s definition (QB), Fryze’s definition (QF), and
fundamental reactive energy (Q1) were small with QF higher
than QB and Q1 (as expected from theoretical studies) by
1% to 4%. The site with significant current distortion levels
(H-003) indicated QF values about 300% of the QB and Q1
values. As BC Hydro does not presently apply reactive
energy or PF charges for residential customers, the
differences would not result in any billing impact for these
customers.
4) Apparent power S was greater than fundamental apparent
power S1 by under 1% for two sites (H-001 and H-002),
under 5% for the third (H-005), and between 10% and 15%
for the site with high levels of distortion (H-003),
confirming that harmonics affect the measurement of
apparent power.
VI. INDUSTRIAL HIP FIELD TRIAL
The nine polyphase HIP meters were installed at sites in
Vancouver, Burnaby, and Richmond. These are all
commercial or industrial customers with 3P4W service for
35kW to 150kW rated loads. These sites were selected
specifically because their business type was likely to include
nonlinear loads (welding, machining, etc) with high levels of
distortion. The nine HIP meters recorded current distortion
levels between 12% and 74%, indicating that these were sites
likely to show differences between measurements including or
excluding harmonic components.
As with the residential meters, these were subjected to the
following tests:
1) A comparison between the total energy P registered by
the revenue meters and the total energy P registered by the
HIP meters. The figures were within 0.4% of each other for
each month for each meter. The HIP meter therefore
registers total energy P within the error limits of 0.5%
claimed for both the revenue meter and the HIP meter.
 2) A comparison was made between the total energy P and
the fundamental energy P1 recorded by the HIP meters at
each site for each calendar month.
i) At seven of the nine sites the difference between P
and P1 was under 0.1%, with some generating and others
absorbing harmonic energy.
ii) At the remaining two sites, P1 was lower than P by
4.4% (H-204) and 9.9% (H-209). Note that both of these
sites had very little consumption (average loads of less
than 10kW), and that these differences may be due to
metering errors under low-load conditions.
3) The ratio of QB to Q1 for four sites ranged from 94% to
100%. For these example sites, the fundamental reactive
power was inductive, while the reactive power at harmonic
frequencies was capacitive, resulting in a net Q B lower than
the Q1 value. Two sites had QB differences at or exceeding
the 3% statutory limit.
4) The ratio of QF to Q1 ranged between 152% and 184%,
with one site at over 900%. These figures show clearly that
QF, which would be identical to Q1 in the absence of
harmonics, is not suitable for revenue metering at nonlinear
loads.
5) The ratio of S to S1 was between 101% and 145%,
showing that the effect of distortion on the measurement of
apparent power is significant.
The ratios of P to P1, QF to Q1, and S to S1 are shown in
Figure 3 for the nine C&I HIP sites.
Figure 3 – Ratios of P, QF, and S to P1, Q1, and S1
VII. GE KV2C METER SITES
We were able to get P and P1 register readings for about 50
KV2c meters that had been installed for over 6 weeks. These
were local sites that we could easily access, as with the HIP
meter sites.
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A comparison was made between the P and P1 register
readings from the KV meters. Several of these meters
registered low consumption (under 500kWh) and were
excluded. Of the remaining 42 meters:
1) One had a P register reading 2.6% lower than the P 1
reading.
2) Eight (~20%) had differences between P and P 1 greater
than 0.5%. Five were generating harmonic power and three
were absorbing it.
Figure 4 – Ratios of P to P1 for 42 KV2c meters
VIII. SUMMARY OF HIP PROJECT RESULTS
The project has shown that:
1) It is possible for present metering technology to filter
harmonic components from the energy metered, in
accordance with the power definitions in IEEE-1459 and as
proposed by Measurement Canada for revenue metering
purposes.
2) Presently available meter test equipment can be used to
test the harmonic filtering capability of these meters. (It is
expected that these tests will be required for type testing
only, and not for verification or re-verification accuracy
testing. Existing meter test equipment will be adequate for
verification testing.)
3) The field testing of four HIP meters at residential sites for
a year, and nine HIP polyphase meters for several months,
has shown the meters to be reliable, accurate, and the
measurements support theoretical expectations. (Note that
one of the polyphase meters suffered an ‘event’ after several
weeks in the field, and some of its data since then is
suspect.)
4) The inequities exist and can be measured where there is
harmonic distortion. They are small for active energy, being
negligible for the four residential customers and under 3%
 for the 9 C&I HIP meters and 50 KV2c meters. However,
they can exceed the Canadian statutory limit of 3% for
reactive and apparent energy for customers with nonlinear
loads.
5) The fundamental-only power definitions eliminate the
inequities as expected.
6) The billing impact of moving to the fundamental-only
power definitions will be negligible (<0.1%) for BC Hydro
customers with low distortion levels. The active energy
(kWh) impact for customers with high levels of distortion,
ranged from about -3% to +3%, with about 20% of the
KV2c sites registering differences of over 0.5%. As some
customers generate harmonic energy while others absorb it,
the net effect was a bill increase of about 0.1% for the 42
KV2c meters. If BC Hydro was to experience an average
kWh revenue increase of 0.1% from fundamental-only
metering, this would amount to less than C$3 million
annually.
7) Of the nine Polyphase HIP sites, six would face PF
penalties between 2% and 20% lower with fundamental
reactive and apparent power definitions, than they would if
their meters applied RMS Apparent Power or Fryze
Reactive Power definitions. If BC Hydro were to lose 10%
of their present PF penalty revenue, the company would
suffer an annual loss of approximately C$1 million, from a
revenue base of over C$4 billion. This is less than 0.025%.
8) It was not possible to install HIP meters at transmission
customers. Nevertheless, if BC Hydro lost 10% of the kVA
demand revenue from 10% of their transmission customers
due to S1 metered rather than S, this would amount to a loss
of under C$3 million.
8) The all-electric home (H-003) could be subject to
metering inequities of 300% for kVArh and 15% for kVAh
with existing MC and ANSI compliant meters, if these
quantities were required by the residential tariff.
IX. CONCLUSIONS
The HIP project, with a limited number of sites, has
nevertheless achieved its goals. Clearly it is no longer
technically impossible, too expensive, or impractical to
meter only the 60Hz energy we produce and trade. The
billing impact for the majority of BC Hydro customers, and
for the company as a whole, would be negligible. For
customers with high levels of distortion, however, the HIP
meter field trials and KV2c meters indicate that bills could
increase by up to 3% for harmonic generators, or decrease
by up to 3% for harmonic absorbers.
Although these trials complete the HIP project for BC
Hydro, several other Canadian utilities have offered to carry
out additional field trials with HIP meters in their own
jurisdictions, to add to the data pool.
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Andrew J. Berrisford (M’97) was born in Cape
Town, South Africa. He started work at Eskom (the
national electric utility) in 1974, and after
completing his National Diploma in Electrical
Engineering (Light Current) he joined the Electrical
Measurements Section of Eskom’s R&D
Department, where he developed an interest in
power definitions. Mr. Berrisford started Eskom’s
Load Research team in 1989 and spent several
years developing load research applications for the
Forecasting, Rates, IEP and DSM Departments.
He has presented papers at local and international conferences on electrical
metering, load research, and related topics. He completed his M Sc in
Electrical Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand in 1997, left
Eskom to start a consultancy, and then immigrated to Canada in 2000. He has
provided technical direction for the Customer and Energy Analytics team at
BC Hydro in Burnaby, BC, Canada, for the past thirteen years.