NYCRR16 Part 92: Meters--Testing And Reporting

PART 92

METERS--TESTING AND REPORTING

(Statutory authority: Public Service, ‹ 67)

Sec.
92.1 General provisions
92.2 Definitions
92.3 Meter test facilities
92.4 Calibration
92.5 Meter records
92.6 Test loads and conditions
92.7 Test for new meters
92.8 Determination of meter performance
92.9 Complaint and referee tests
92.10 In-service tests
92.11 Meter registers and add-ons auxiliary devices, and data processing

Section 92.1 General provisions.
(a) The rules and regulations contained in this Part are promulgated
to establish minimum requirements for the guidance of meter service
providers in instituting practices in connection with the testing and
maintenance of electricity meters in order to promote a high degree of
metering performance.
(b) The Department of Public Service Part 92 Operating Manual (March
14, 2003) contains additional procedures which must be adhered to by all
entities providing metering services. The metering procedures shall be
available for public inspection by contacting the Public Service
Department's Office of Consumer Education and Advocacy, 3 Empire State
Plaza, Albany, NY 12223 and will be posted on the Department's website
at www.dps.state.ny.us.
(c) For the purpose of this Part, the term meter service providers
shall include all corporations, municipalities, and persons installing,
testing, maintaining, or operating electricity meters used for billing
customers.
(d) Each meter service provider shall provide adequate and proper
meter testing facilities and shall have all electricity meters, used or
intended to be used for the purpose of billing customers, tested and
adjusted as required by this Part.
(e) Rules pertaining to watthour meters shall apply, insofar as they
are applicable, to volt-ampere hour meters, varhour meters, compensated
meters, and other electricity meters.
(f) Meters and metering devices used or intended to be used for the
purpose of billing customers shall be of types approved by the
commission.
(g) Any approved types of meters and metering devices may be used in
various combinations provided that the over-all percentage registrations
are within the limits as specified in the Part 92 Operating Manual.
(h) A meter or metering device which has been tagged or sealed for a
referee test shall be unsealed, tested, replaced or removed in the
presence of or at the direction of the commission or its designee.
(i) Specifications for test equipment, calibration intervals, and
testing of metering devices are specified in the Part 92 Operating
Manual.

92.2 Definitions.
(a) A meter testing facility is a laboratory or shop maintained or
used by a meter service provider that is suitably equipped to test the
accuracy of electricity meters. The facility must be certified by the
Public Service Commission or its designee.
(b) A standardizing laboratory is a laboratory or shop equipped to
maintain basic units of electrical measurements to apply those
measurements to the testing of electricity metering test equipment, and
to provide traceability to the standards maintained in the National
Institute of Standards and Technology. The laboratory must be certified
by the commission or its designee.
(c) The national Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is the
federal agency responsible for the maintenance of nationally recognized
measurement standards.
(d) Traceability is the process by which the assigned value of a
measurement is compared, directly or indirectly, through a series of
calibrations to the value established by the U.S. national standard.
(e) A complaint test (request test) is an as-found accuracy test of an
electricity meter meter, made by a meter service provider as a result of
a complaint made to the Energy Service Company, Meter Service Provider
or T&D utility by a customer.
(f) A referee test is an as-found accuracy test of an electricity a
meter, made or witnessed by a representative of the commission as a
result of a complaint made to the commission by a customer or at the
request of an Energy Services Company, Meter Service Provider or T&D
Utility. Referee tests shall be made in a manner acceptable to the
commission or its designee.
(g) An as found test is a test of an electricity meter made at
prescribed load points to determine its performance prior to any
adjustment or disassembly.
(h) An as left test is a test of an electricity meter made at
prescribed load points to determine its performance after adjustments
have been made and prior to being placed in or restored to service.
(i) An in-service test is an as found test of an electricity meter
made in accordance with a test program, as defined in the Part 92
Operating Manual, which is designed to establish the overall performance
of the meter population.
(j) The customer is the individual or entity purchasing electrical
energy for a fee based on data provided by an electricity meter. This
shall include direct customers of the ISO.
(k) The New York Independent System Opeartor (ISO) is a New York
not-for-profit corporation providing operating control over the bulk
electricity transmission system within New York State.

92.3 Meter test facilities.
(a) Each meter service provider shall maintain or have access to a
suitable facility for testing electricity meters that has been certified
by the commission or its designee as specified in the Part 92 Operating
Manual.
(b) The meter test facility shall be equipped with test equipment
suitable to establish test conditions and to determine meter
performance.
(c) The meter test facility shall be managed and staffed by competent
personnel.
(d) The meter test facility shall be located within New York State and
not impose restrictions on its use for tests which are to be witnessed
by a customer, the commission or its designee through its location or
access requirements.
(e) The use of commercial standardizing laboratories as Meter Test
Facilities shall be allowed only where such laboratories can be shown to
have the appropriate test equipment and be staffed by personnel
knowledgeable in the test and maintenance of electricity meters.
Commercial standardizing laboratories used as meter test facilities
shall be certified by the commission or its designee.
(f) No meter test facility may be used for the test of electricity
meters used for customer billing until it has been inspected and
certified by the commission or its designee.

92.4 Calibration.
(a) All meters and meter test standards and instruments used to test
the accuracy of electricity meters must be calibrated and be traceable
to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, as specified in
the Part 92 Operating Manual.

92.5 Meter records.
(a) For all energy or demand meters installed on customer's premises,
records shall be maintained by the Energy Services Company, Meter
Service Provider or the T&D Utility controlling the meter which identify
the year purchased, the manufacturer, the type, the identifying number,
the nameplate data relative to the rating of the meter, and the year and
results of the last test. Such records shall be sufficient to identify
all associated meters and accessory equipment affecting the accuracy of
the billing.
(b) Records for each meter shall be accessible to the commission or
its designee and to any entity having direct financial interest in the
data provided from that specific meter.
(c) Requests for meter records will be responded to within a time
frame as specified in the Part 92 Operating Manual.

92.6 Test loads and conditions.
(a) Test conditions and loads shall be as specified in the Part 92
Operating Manual.

92.7 Tests for new meters.
(a) All new electricity meters shall be tested and adjusted to an
accuracy of as near to 100% registration as practical by either the
manufacturer or the meter of the Meter Service Provider before
installation as specified in the Part 92 Operating Manual.
(b) Where these tests are performed by a manufacturer who maintains a
standardizing laboratory, the meter service provider shall take
appropriate action to assure that the watthour meters conform to the
requirements as specified in the Part 92 Operating Manual.

92.8 Determination of meter performance.
(a) Meter registration shall be considered "indeterminate" when there
is any doubt as to whether the accuracy of the registration can be
determined. Meter registration may also be considered "indeterminate" if
two successive readings taken at each load fail to agree within the
specified maximum error of the meter.
(b) A meter shall be reported as "Damaged" when it is registering
incorrectly due to tampering, incorrect connections, overload or damage
originating from external sources.
(c) A meter shall be reported as "Not Registering" if for any reason
it is found not registering at both the light load and heavy load test
points.
(d) Meter accuracy may be specified as that which is measured at a
single test point or as a combined accuracy based on tests taken at
multiple load points. Only one method of determining performance may be
used for any meter type. The appropriate method for each meter type is
specified in the Part 92 Operating Manual.
(e) Test methods used for determination of meter accuracy are
specified in the Part 92 Operating Manual.

92.9 Complaint and referee tests.
(a) Where possible, a complaint test of a meter shall be made with the
meter installed in place on the customer's premises, without requiring
the removal of the meter in any manner from its permanent position prior
to the test.
(b) A complaint test of a meter may be made at the meter testing
facility in lieu of the customer's premises if conditions at the site do
not allow safe operation during the test or if the technology of the
device requires test conditions not readily available at a customer
location.
(c) A detachable meter may be mounted in a test device designed for
insertion into the meter mounting.
(d) The cover of a meter may be removed at the time of the test.
(e) Referee tests shall be subject to the same constraints and
requirements as complaint tests.

(f) Referee tests shall be made in a manner acceptable to the
commission or its designee.
(g) Devices and related circuits such as totalizers or relays for
customer billing not detailed in this Part shall be tested, and reports
of such tests shall be made, in a manner acceptable to the commission or
its designee.

92.10 In-service tests.
(a) All installed meters shall be subject to in-service testing to
determine the performance of the meter population. These tests must be
performed as specified in the Part 92 Operating Manual.
(b) Performance standards for the meter population are specified in
the Part 92 Operating Manual.
(c) Any entity operating electricity meters used for billing of
customers within New York State and who are eligible to be meter service
providers under the Commission's "Practices and Procedures for the
Provision of Electric Metering in a Competitive Environment" will be
responsible for the administration of an in-service test program for any
meters that they have installed within the state. The program will be
based solely on the population of meters installed in New York and shall
not be affected by any meters installed in other states.
(d) Individual test programs for in-service meters will be filed with
and approved by the commission or its designee prior to their use.
(e) Reports of meter performance will be made to the commission or its
designee as specified in the Part 92 Operating Manual.

92.11 Meter registers and add-ons, auxiliary devices, and data
processing.
(a) Meter demand registers shall be tested as specified in the Part 92
Operating Manual.
(b) Meter add-ons, such as pulse initiators, communications modules,
etc., shall be verified for performance and effect on the meter as part
of the approval process for the meter on which they will be used as
specified in Part 93. The tests for new meters specified in 92.7 and the
in-service tests specified in 92.10 shall not apply to these add-ons.
(c) Functions performed on the raw meter data by data processing
systems shall be verified for compliance with specifications,
functionality, and accuracy before use. The approval requirements of
Part 93, the tests for new meters specified in 92.7 and the in-service
tests specified in 92.10 shall not apply to these functions.
(d) Auxiliary devices, such as pulse recorders, totalizers, etc., must
be approved for use in customer billing applications as specified in
Part 93. Their performance will be verified as part of the approval
process. The tests for new meters specified in 92.7 and the in-service
tests specified in 92.10 shall not apply to these devices.

Volume		A
Chapter		02 Electric Utilities
Subchapter		A Service
Article

Part	92
Subject	Meters--Testing And Reporting