The Upgrade of IEEE Std 1459 Standard Definitions for the Measurement of Electric Power Quantities Under Sinusoidal, Nonsinusoidal, Balanced or Unbalanced Conditions

For more than a century, certain measurements routinely made in the power system have been challenging. Results from different instruments supposedly measuring the same thing have not always been in agreement. Usually, the difference in results has been explained away as being the effect of signal distortion or unbalance, or both. These effects have made it impossible to understand how to develop definitions for certain three-phase quantities from three single-phase values. The “physical meaning” of some of these quantities has been discussed at length. Meetings have been held, at national and international levels, in the hope of resolving some of the questions.
• In the US, in 1919, the AIEE and the National Electric Light Association formed a Joint Committee to resolve the definition of power factor. Unhelpfully, five or six of the definitions they arrived at in 1920 are included in the 2010 version of Std 1459.
• At an International Conference on High-Voltage Electric Systems held in 1927 in Paris, a paper was presented entitled “The Power Factor and Its Improvement.” The discussion of the paper revealed major differences of opinion on the basic phenomena. A special IEC advisory committee was formed.
• Follow-up work by the IEC committee led to a “Questionnaire on the Problem of Reactive Power” which was given international circulation. After that, in 1933, a special session of AIEE was devoted to the question of “What is Reactive Power.” None of these meeting succeeded in resolving the problems. Echoes of the challenges resonate still in the 2010 edition of IEEE Std 1459. Recent advances in the theory of measurement have revealed the underlying causes of these various challenges. New understanding, based on a better appreciation of measurement theory, has allowed solutions to come into focus. For the last three years, a Working Group of the PES Instrumentation and Measurement Committee has been upgrading the standard to resolve the old problems, remove erroneous content, and simplify the use of the document. The purpose of this Panel Session is to give an overview of the revised standard, and describe and explain the changes made to it.