Client in Charleston got hit by severe storms last month and their AEP bill shows power factor penalties that make no sense. Plant was shut down for five days due to flood damage but still showing 0.73 lagging PF and $4,800 in penalties. When facility is offline the PF should be near unity or leading from transformer magnetizing current alone. AEP claims their meter is working fine but something is definitely wrong. Anyone dealt with storm-related metering issues?
AEP power factor meter reading wrong after storm
Wanda, I've seen this exact scenario with storm damaged facilities. Water intrusion in electrical equipment can create phantom loads that show up as poor power factor. Even small amounts of moisture in motor windings or transformers can cause significant reactive current draw. The other possibility is CT or PT damage affecting the metering accuracy. I'd demand AEP investigate the metering installation for storm damage before paying those penalties.
Randy's spot on about water damage creating reactive loads. Had similar issue in Augusta after Hurricane Michael. Client's flooded motor control center was drawing massive reactive current even with motors offline. The contactors were partially energized due to moisture creating current paths to ground. AEP should be willing to investigate since this was clearly storm-related damage beyond customer control.
That makes perfect sense! The electrical room did take on about six inches of water and several motor starters had to be replaced. I bet the damaged equipment was creating the reactive load even though production was shut down. Filing complaint with AEP today and requesting they investigate the meter installation and customer equipment for storm damage. Greg, did your client get the penalties reversed?
Yes, took about three months but Georgia Power credited back all penalties once we proved the cause was storm damage. Key was getting an electrical contractor to document the equipment condition and correlate the reactive current with the damaged components. AEP should be reasonable since this was clearly an unusual circumstance. Make sure to emphasize the facility was non-operational during the penalty period.
Wanda, also check if AEP has any storm damage provisions in their tariff. Most utilities have language about billing adjustments for force majeure events. Since the facility was shut down due to flooding, you might have grounds for a complete billing adjustment not just the power factor penalties. Worth reviewing the general terms and conditions for emergency provisions.
Great suggestion Randy. Found Section 8.2 in AEP's General Service tariff about "extraordinary circumstances beyond customer control." Filing amended complaint today with photos of flood damage and electrical contractor report. Really appreciate the help from everyone - this forum is invaluable for these unusual situations.
Update for anyone following this case - AEP agreed to reverse all power factor penalties for May and June bills totaling $8,200. They also waived the meter test fee and are installing new current transformers at no charge since storm surge may have damaged the existing ones. Persistence and good documentation made the difference. Thanks again for the guidance everyone!