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Consultation - Initial 10-year Re-verification Period for Electricity Meters

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Consultation - Initial 10-year Re-verification Period for Electricity Meters, in PDF format, 52 KB

Context

It is recognized that the current regulatory situation creates a potential unlevel playing field in the marketplace because of the current moratorium on PS-E-11 and that only one manufacturer has been granted a 10-year initial re-verification period for one of their meter models. Since electricity utilities in Ontario will be replacing approximately 4.5 million electricity meters over the next few years as result of the Ontario Government Smart Meter Initiative, this becomes a major concern for industry and for Measurement Canada (MC).


Approach being considered

Measurement Canada believes that lifting the moratorium on PS-E-11 would likely not provide an adequate solution to the issue. The Agency is now considering the possibility of granting on a conditional basis, a 10-year initial re-verification period to all electricity meters submitted for approval. Measurement Canada is prepared to implement such an approach if it obtains from industry 1) clear support for the gathering of data and to assist MC in the development of a new program and requirements and, 2) agreement on guiding principle for the new program and requirements (see below).

If MC obtains such support and agreement from industry, it will create a MC/industry joint workgroup to develop the new requirements.

The 10-year initial re-verification period would be granted conditionally, subject to the application of the new program/requirements.

Once the new requirements are developed and implemented on the new meters submitted to MC for type-approval, application to in-service meters will then be considered.


Guiding Principles for the new program and requirements:

• The 10-year initial re-verification period that is conditionally granted must be validated by the actual performance of meters.

• The program must clearly identify what data utilities will need to gather and provide to MC electronically.

• The program must clearly identify what methods are used to evaluate the data for performance degradation and what decision criteria will apply for the reduction of the initial 10 year reverification period.

• The evaluation of meters and gathering of performance data must be done in a manner that will minimize the chance for an utility or a manufacturer to influence the outcome without providing MC with the ability to detect it and take actions.

• Meter-type in-service performance needs to be evaluated on an on-going basis to enable detection of problems and reduction of the 10-year initial re-verification period when appropriate.

• Criteria/conditions for the reduction of the initial re-verification period must be clear, and easy to implement and administer.

• The same rules for re-verification periods will apply to both electronic and electro-mechanical meters.

• It is recognized that practices or conditions inherent to a specific utility or geographical region could cause performance problems; the program/requirements must be designed in such a way as to avoid utility/geographical problems to lead to incorrect conclusions on a meter type performance. Decisions regarding the validity of the 10-yr re-verification period must be national.

• The program must identify meter types that will show performance problems before the end of their first 10 years of use; and identify problems that affect a significant percentage of meters; it should not attempt to identify isolated cases of meters that are not performing (this will be addressed through compliance sampling).

• The program must be cost-effective and sustainable with the current level of resources devoted by Measurement Canada to the electricity and gas trade sectors.