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Utility Imposed Minimum Load Power Factor

Utility Imposed Minimum Load Power Factor

Utility Imposed Minimum Load Power Factor

(OP)
In North American Utilities, what is their minimum power pfactor requirement at the PCC of industrial plant main substation?

RE: Utility Imposed Minimum Load Power Factor

I think you'll find it varies by utility.  For our installations, we pay a penalty for every kvarh below a PF of 0.9 (the first 0.1 of PF is free). The penalty for excess kvarh is $0.0014/kvarh, and only applies to facilities that draw greater than 400 kW.

RE: Utility Imposed Minimum Load Power Factor

The typical way to assess bad power factor in Canada is to charge ALL demand-rated customers for monthly peak demand by charging the GREATER of (90% of measured kVA, 100% of measured kW).

Any load customer with a pf lower than 0.90 automatically starts paying 'penalties' based on the standard regulator-approved demand tariff.

There is not generally a 'required minimum' unless the customer(s) in question have a large enough load and a poor-enough pf that the distribution system is affected (and the large demand 'penalties' quickly pay for utility-side capacitors if the customer's arithmetic skills are poor. We generally advise customer's about the amount of money they are leaving 'on the table' via bad pf)

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