Anyone else notice that Puget Sound Energy revised their Schedule 40 power factor provisions last month? They've changed from a straight percentage penalty to a tiered structure. Penalties now start at 0.90 PF instead of 0.85, but the rates are lower for minor deviations. Trying to figure out if this helps or hurts my commercial clients in the Seattle area.
PSE power factor tariff changes - Schedule 40
David, I saw that change too. For most of our Kentucky Power customers, the new structure would be worse since we typically see PF in the 0.87-0.90 range. But if PSE's penalty rates are proportionally lower, might be a wash. Have you run any sample calculations on actual customer data?
Mike, I ran the numbers on about a dozen accounts. Mixed results - customers with PF between 0.85-0.90 are paying slightly more, but those below 0.85 are saving money with the lower penalty rates. Overall seems like PSE is trying to encourage better PF across more customers rather than just penalizing the worst offenders.