EPowerFactor DEMAND & POWER FACTOR FACTS

Fact 1. There are over 3,000 Public, Investor Owned and Cooperative electric utilities in the United States and all have two things in common, delivering and billing for electrical service to their customers. There are also as many was of calculation and charging for the electrical product they deliver to your door. The majority of these electrical utilities exist only to deliver the product (electricity) and do not manufacturer (generate) it known as distribution only utilities. Organizations like UPS, FedEx and the US Postal Service also have the same thing in common with distribution only utilities in that they are delivering a product you purchased elsewhere. Just as these companies have different rates and methods of charging for their deliver service so do our electric utilities as most of us purchase the actual power (kWH’s) from a third party “supply” company.

Fact 2. Many of the 3000+ utilities in the USA have built into their Demand or Delivery rates a way of charging for power factor but it is not clearly depicted on the invoice. In some cases it is but it is called something else such as a reactive energy charge, kVAr charge and alike. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Fact 3. More and more utilities are adding a cost for low power factor to their rates or tariffs and it is difficult at best for us to keep up with over 3000 companies resulting in more than 10,000 different rate classes. In an effort to get a handle on the issue we continuous search the web sites of as many utilities as we can that have included detail rate explanations.  An incomplete list of the utilities known to us that have one or more of their electrical rates include a charge for low power factor can be found here.  IF YOUR IS ON LIST YOU SHOULD LET US KNOW, if not it may mean that we haven’t checked it yet and you still could be paying a penalty, so you should let us help.

Fact 4. Most of these Power Factor charges affect only commercial/industrial rate classes and not residential however there are a few exceptions.  It is also important to understand that you may NOT benefit from a power factor improvement and the first test is to determine;

A- Is your power factor low?

B - Does your local electric utility charge for it?

If the answer is no to either question, chances are an improvement won't save you any money. If your not sure of the answers, please contact us.

Fact 5. In many cases one or both of the above apply so an improvement of power factor may not save you any money in that case. However there are secondary benefits such as electrical system capacity increase and voltage improvements that can be achieved by correcting a low power factor. If you experiencing low voltage or system capacity issues, a power factor may solve these problems.

However, if the answer is yes to the two questions, a properly performed power factor correction project using a high quality system such as our GE Ultravar system can save enough money on your electrical bill to recover the total project cost in 12 to 24 months and last for decades. The cost for us to perform a “quick PF report” for you to determine this is only $73.00 and can save you thousands!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FACTS

Please contact us for more information.