GEN-33 — Conditional permission for using electricity and gas telemetering devices and systems in service without verification and sealing

The copy of this document located on Measurement Canada's website is considered to be the controlled copy.

Category: General
Bulletin: GEN-33 (rev. 3)
Document(s): EGI Act; MC Information dated 2005-02-20; Bulletin E-30
Issue Date: 2010-01-28
Effective Date: 2010-04-01
Supersedes: GEN-33 (rev. 2)


Table of Contents


1.0 Purpose

The purpose of this bulletin is to communicate the granting of conditional permission for the in-service use of electricity and gas telemetering devices and systems without verification and sealing.

2.0 Scope

This bulletin applies to telemetering devices and systems used to transmit electricity and gas measurement information from an approved meter to a remote location, for the purpose of establishing the basis of the charge for electricity or gas consumed.

3.0 Authority

This conditional permission is granted under the authority of subsection 9(3) of the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act.

4.0 References

Electricity and Gas Inspection Act (R.S. 1985, c. E-4), s.s. 9(3).

5.0 Terminology

Data Recorder

means a device or function which records SLUM data.

Source LUM (SLUM)

means a legal unit of measurement extracted from an approved and verified meter.

Source Meter

means an approved and verified electricity or gas meter used for the purposes of trade measurement which provides measurement information to be used for telemetering.

Telemetering

means the transmission of measurement information with the aid of intermediate means that permits the source electricity or gas meter's register reading to be duplicated and/or interpreted at a distance. Note: In this definition, the term "intermediate means" is broad enough to include wire or wireless techniques for transmitting measurement data from the source electricity or gas meter.

Telemetering Device

means a device used in a telemetering system to duplicate the register reading of the source meter. The location of this device may be external or integral to the source meter with which it is used. (Note: A telemetering device where used with an electricity meter is subject to the approval policies outlined in section 3.3 of bulletin E-30).

Telemetering System

means all devices and equipment used to duplicate and/or interpret a source electricity or gas meter's register reading(s) at a distance.

6.0 Policy - Conditional permission

6.1 Subject to clause 6.2 and 6.3, electricity or gas telemetering devices and systems used to transmit electricity and gas measurement information from a source meter to a remote data recorder may be put into service without verification and sealing, subject to the following conditions:

  1. The source meter shall be verified and sealed in accordance with applicable Measurement Canada specifications and policies; and
  2. For the purpose of the telemetering dispensation policy, the consumer shall be provided with a means of indication, approved or otherwise, which displays the measurement values for all SLUM that are provided by the source meter.
  3. In case of a disagreement between the reading established and recorded in the source meter's register and the reading obtained through the use of telemetering devices and systems, the source meter's register reading will be deemed to be correct.

6.2 This permission shall not apply to electricity and gas telemetering devices and systems which are also used as the fundamental means for establishing a legal unit of measurement (e.g. time-related demand for the sale of electricity; converted volume for the sale of gas). However, this permission shall apply in cases where the established legal unit of measurement has not yet been multiplied by an applicable fixed multiplier. For example, this permission does apply to:

  1. temperature converted gas volume that will subsequently be multiplied by a fixed pressure multiplier (i.e. pressure factor metering); and
  2. converted gas volume that will subsequently be multiplied by one or more applicable metric conversion factors; and
  3. electricity energy or demand that will subsequently be multiplied by a fixed overall billing multiplier.

6.3 Pursuant to subsection 9(4) of the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act, telemetering device(s) used with or within a source meter for the purpose of establishing the basis of the charge for electricity or gas consumed, must be approved by Measurement Canada.

7.0 Revisions

The purpose of revision 1 was to provide clarifications and add examples specific to gas measurement.

The purpose of revision 2 was to make editorial modifications to clarify the three options for provision of a source meter display, and define the terms "data recorder" and "conversion device".

The purpose of this revision is to further clarify that the required display need not be an approved display, and to remove the reference to conversion devices.