PQ Metrics Implementation on Low Cost Smart Metering Platforms. A Case Study Analysis

The increasing interest on the quality of the energy supplied and generated in distribution networks is raising the need of distributed power quality (PQ) measurements. To allow such capabilities with cost effective metering solutions, this paper wants to investigate the feasibility of using smart meters, already installed for energy billing, also for power quality monitoring. To this aim, an electronic board (based on STCOMET metrology device), already used in many energy meters of different countries, has been selected as case study platform. The manufacturer firmware of this board was essentially aimed at implementing energy meter metrics and power line communications functionalities. In this paper, new PQ functionalities were implemented and experimentally verified, taking into account the requirements of IEC 61000-4-30 for power quality measurements.