Abstract
The paper considers the influence of harmonics on the operating of electrical energy meters in a network with nonlinear loads. It is shown that electronic static meters of active energy are tested in the presence of distortions, and electronic static meters of reactive energy accuracy requirements do not take into account the possible presence of harmonics. It is revealed that the maximum influence on the error in active energy metering is exerted by the number of harmonics taken into account and their amplitude, and the error in reactive energy metering is additionally influenced by the phase angle at the fundamental and harmonic frequencies, which has been confirmed in laboratory conditions. Additionally, experimental studies of the capacitor bank’s influence on reactive energy metering has been carried out in the presence of nonlinear electrical loads. It is shown that when capacitor banks are connected, the error in reactive energy measurement and variation range of the phase shift angle of harmonics significantly increases. The assessment of the computational error of reactive power metering according to various equations were carried out based on the field measurements. If the voltage and current distortion values do not exceed the permissible values, the error can be estimated at, at most, 5−7%.