5. Counters with maximum indicator

5.1 Field of application

In industrial customer pricing, a power-dependent term is often included in the bill. This may relate either to power actually reached, or to theoretical power. In all cases, it is necessary to measure the maximum power reached over one or more reference periods. This is done by a device integrated into the meter, known as a maximum indicator.

The maximum indicator actually measures the energy consumed over a short time interval, called the integration period - in practice, depending on the country, 10 min, 15 min, 30 min or one hour - and calculates the average power consumed over this interval. It then compares the measured values and displays only the highest, which is called the power maximum. The way this value is processed varies...