What kVA means and its important charges
kVA is an electrical term used to describe the amount of electrical power that a meter can feed to a building or site. It stands for Kilo Volt Amperes and one KVA equals 1,000 Watts of power.
Many businesses misjudge the kVA capacity they require by trying to link their maximum power requirement (kVA) to their total annual energy usage (kWh). This is not advisable as there is no direct link between kVA requirement and annual energy usage. Eg. two businesses may both consume 100,000 kWh per year. One may run an item of equipment with a large power requirement for an hour a day and the other may use less powerful equipment for longer. Although they both use the same amount of energy, the first business requires more power because there will be more energy transferred to the building in a shorter space of time.
What’s your meter’s kVA?
P272 legislation means that any meter over a certain size must measure consumption half hourly. This data will let you know how much electricity your building draws at peak usage and, hence, what kVA the meter needs to be. Any business can install a half hourly meter regardless of legislation.
What happens if you exceed your kVA?
It can be serious, in a worst-case scenario, you could actually overload the supply, leaving you with no electricity until the costly repairs can be made. For a business, it is going to be expensive and this can now cost you even more.
Ofgem introduced a measure to discourage exceeding kVA which went live in 2018. Half hourly supplies that exceed capacity will be charged more than their standard rate. It is expected that these charges will result in the amount you pay increasing by as much as three times for anything consumed over your kVA.
This penalty is proposed to recover costs that exceeding KVA imposes on your DNO (Distribution Network Operator), who is responsible for physically delivering your electricity.
This new legislation is called ‘DCP161’ and will be a change in the Distribution Connection and Use of System Agreement (DCUSA).
This means you need to understand your max demand with the legislation taking effect in April 2018. Make sure your supply has the right KVA – it could cost you more to have a higher kVA supply but not as much as the penalty charges for exceeding your capacity could incur. Applying for extra electricity in your area can be a lengthy process, so bear this in mind.
The other option, of course, is to reduce your consumption – the best way to guarantee a drop in your energy expenditure.
If you require help with either a kVA analysis or reducing your consumption, we can lend a hand.