Electronic reactive energy meters’ performance evaluation in environment contaminated with power quality disturbances

This paper evaluates and interprets the performance of electronic reactive energy meters that are currently used in electric power systems and operate in an environment contaminated with harmonics due to nonlinear loading and power quality disturbances that could result due to modern load operation in the context of smart grid. The operating principle of each type of meter is provided, the performance of each type is evaluated, and an interpretation relating performance in a non-distorted environment and performance in a distorted environment is given. To improve the next-generation of smart meters, a time–frequency modified version of these operating principles is developed using discrete wavelet transform which is a powerful tool in handling time-varying power quality disturbances. The wavelet-based approach is tested on simulated and real case studies under harmonics and different power quality disturbances. Results of test cases included in this study are presented, and the outcomes are analyzed.

► The performance of electronic reactive energy meters is evaluated according to their operating principles.
► Different power quality disturbances are considered in testing the performance of these meters.
► A time–frequency algorithm based on discrete wavelet transform is developed to improve the performance of these meters.
► The new algorithm has been tested in simulated and real world environment.
► Results indicated promising performance of the proposed approach especially under different power quality disturbances.