RE: overload light Re: Pole PIg question

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "John H. Couture" <couturejh-at-mgte-dot-com> 


Ed -

One of the biggest problems an Electric Utility (EU) has is voltage
regulation on their lines. If the voltage regulation is inadequate lights
flicker and motors burn out. There are laws that require the EU to provide
the proper apparatus to keep these conditions within certain limits. If a
customer has a load that creates the voltage regulation to exceed the limits
the EU must spend the money to correct the situation. The EU then attempts
to recover its costs from the customer.

I have been involved in these situations to design a customers electrical
system to meet the EU requirements. One customer had a 4000 HP motor and he
was at the end of a long transmission line. The rest of his load was small
so the motor was the dominant load. As the motor went on and off the line
the neighbors lights flickered. The solution was simple and that was to
increase the size of the transmission line. But who should pay for the new
line? The final solution was to split the costs between the EU and customer.
The customer paid for more expensive motor starting devices to lower the
starting currents and the EU paid for new lines which they agreed needed
upgrading.

With Tesla coils getting larger and sometimes creating problems for the EU
the coiler should be aware that if his TC causes problems on the electric
lines he is going the be subject to additional EU charges. Demand (PFC) is
also a problem but that is another story.

John Couture

---------------------------------


-----Original Message-----
From: Tesla list [mailto:tesla-at-pupman-dot-com]
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2004 1:41 PM
To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: overload light Re: Pole PIg question


Original poster: Edward Wingate <ewing7-at-rochester.rr-dot-com>

Tesla list wrote:
  >
  > Original poster: David Speck <dave-at-davidspeckmd-dot-org>
  >
  > Calling the power company here has been an exercise in futility.  They
  > assume that you are a total dunce, and give a ridiculously simplified
  > answer, or more likely, they don't even know themselves.

Dave,

I feel your frustration! I think you and I have the same power company
(NM).

I have been battling with them about a $100 charge, which has since been
removed, that they tacked on to the electric bill for my lab, because
they claimed they couldn't read the meter due to the fact that I
controlled access which is NOT the case. Access to the meter hasn't been
a problem for the last ten years and as you know it's on the outside of
the building and easily read by anyone with a two legs and a pair of
eyes. Long story, so I won't go into details, but I get the impression
that the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing!

More problems may be on the way! The old analog meters on both the house
and my lab have now been upgraded to digital radio remote reading and my
question now is......how well protected against EMI are these new
meters? Does anyone on the list have any experience with the new digital
electric meters and Tesla coils or will I have to wait until spring to
fire up the magnifier and find out just how tough they are or are not?!
Will the electric bill for my lab be normal, really low or really high?
I've left the stereo in the lab on while firing the magnifier with no
ill effects because of the heavy filtering in my power cabinet.
But......

The guys can't have fun videotaping the wildly spinning meter wheel
while the magnifier is running anymore either. All there is on the new
meter face are digits and a small flashing arrow.

Ed Wingate RATCB