Utility Voltage

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JohnJ0906

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Location
Baltimore, MD
I did a residential service upgrade yesterday, and the customer had 129 volts per leg, 258 total. Is this within the variance allowed to utilities? I thought they were allowed 10%, but I wasn't sure. Does anyone know?

There are at least 3 other houses on the same xfmr, and the neighborhood has gas heat. I suspect that winter is lighter on the load than summer, when the central A/Cs are running, and the utility has allowed for that.
 
Seems high but I would contact the poco and let them know of the situation. Here is where all those 130V light bulbs come in handy. :smile:
 
There's a couple around here that won't take action until 132. I think that's rediculous. 129 is higher than I ever like to see it, since you know it's going to spike over that on a fairly regular basis.
 
A little high . We would probably tweak it down a bit , as long as the customers at the end of the circuit have adequate voltage .
 
Depends on what is approved by the public service commission in your state if it is a public owned electric utility. We have ?5% but others may have more. :)
 
Thanks for the replies. I'll contact the POCO today.

FWIW, I did use 2 different meters to measure the voltage. (The last time I measured a high voltage like this, it was due to a low battery in my meter)
 
I found this at the POCO's (BGE) website. http://www.bge.com/portal/site/bge/...6a0/#eddc686aa59d8010VgnVCM2000004317670a____

I will definitely call this morning.





The voltage at the utility's service terminals, as installed for each customer, shall be maintained within the limits specified in the table below. If a utility adopts any standard voltage not included in the table, it shall advise the Commission in order that the Commission may establish appropriate voltage limits. When 3-phase service is provided, the utility shall exercise reasonable care to assure that the phase voltages are balanced. Standard Minimum Maximum 120/240 min 114/228 max 126/252
 
I can't speak for locations outside of the U.S. but,
I've never heard of any utility knowingly allowing voltages outside of +5% or minus 5% of the service rated nominal voltage. For a residential single phase 120/240 volt service, the high limit is 126. The low limit is 114.
Any voltage outside of these limits is at the least damaging, and at the worst outright dangerous.
One more thing, DON'T EVER assume that everybody at the poco knows what the hell they are talking about.
Always do the research and check things for yourself. Power companies are just like any other company, there are some intelligent hard working people, and then there are some certified idiots.
I know, I work around some of each every day.
 
I have seen a service area before that tended to average around 130v. Some models of televisions would infrequently shut down due to excessive voltage driving the picture tube, which was the result of the high line voltage.

I never worked with the POCO on the problem but it wasn't really my problem to worry about.
 
Charlie

You may want to look at your link.
(1) For residential services, the voltage shall not vary more than plus or minus 5% from the standard adopted.

This is a document generated by what appears to be a state government.

Gee, a state government dictating electrical standards....

No thanks, I think I'll just stay with common sense and proven industry standards.
 
Charlie
...
This is a document generated by what appears to be a state government.

Gee, a state government dictating electrical standards....

No thanks, I think I'll just stay with common sense and proven industry standards.
That is one of the functions of state government. They regulate the utilities within their state and service standards are part of that regulation. In Illinois, for a 120 volt service the standard is 113 to 127 volts, for services at any other voltage the rule is plus or minus 10%. Common sense and "proven industry standards" cannot be enforced but the states electrical service rules can be.
 
I guess state governments can attempt to regulate and dictate anything they would like.
That doesn't mean that their regulations are followed or for that matter even make sense.
 
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Please disregard the post immediately above this one. I meant to post the following.


I guess state governments can attempt to regulate and dictate anything they would like.
That doesn't mean that their regulations are followed or for that matter even make sense. In this case, some of the listed regulations are not realistic and they certainly do not make sense. If you live outside of a city/residential area is it ok to have 132 or 108 volts at the meter?(+ /- 10%) That's what the regulation says. Will my appliances be able to work properly and safely at these extremes? Absolutely not.
I live in a very rural area and I'm served by a rural electric co-operative every day. I've had 128 volts at my meter before.(I monitor the voltage at all times to protect my equipment) One call to the REC office resulted in a troubleman at my door in less than 90 minutes. The troubleman informed me that 128 volts was not acceptable. He corrected the problem right away. (regulator left in "manual" at the substation...)
Let's talk about practical real world things here. I firmly believe that most people who view this forum regularly do so to learn what is practical, safe, and real world, not what some obscure and obviously foolish state regulation says.

Governments can do whatever, but no power company that I've dealt with (granted, I have not dealt with every single power company in the U.S.)
would allow a residential service voltage to persist outside of plus or minus 5% of the nominal center of band . To do so is outright stupidity.

Here is another example of a state government sticking its nose into something where it had absolutely no business at all.

http://newsok.com/missouri-may-repeal-butter-law/article/3330839
 
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. . . (1) For residential services, the voltage shall not vary more than plus or minus 5% from the standard adopted. . .

(1) For residential service, the voltage shall be within five percent (5%) plus or minus of the standard adopted, and the total variation of voltage from minimum to maximum shall not exceed six percent (6%) of the average voltage in cities and other incorporated places having a population in excess of 2,500, nor eight percent (8%) of the average voltage in all other places.
That means that if we are over by 5% at night, we can not be more than 3% under in the daytime for rural areas (8% maximum swing). I misstated the percentages in my earlier post.
icon11.gif
The public service commission is part of the state government, ours is the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. :smile:

 
Nominal Voltage

Nominal Voltage

In addition to being concerned about the allowable % deviation, make sure you know the nominal voltage. Is it 115/230, 120/240 or 125/250V? It varies by utility.
 
In addition to being concerned about the allowable % deviation, make sure you know the nominal voltage. Is it 115/230, 120/240 or 125/250V? It varies by utility.
The US standard, since at least the 1960's, as defined by ANSI, IEEE, and the NEC is 120/240. I know of no utility that deviates from this standard.
 
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