Category: Electricity and gas
Specification: S-EG-04
Document(s): PS-EG-02
Issue date: 2011-09-07
Effective date: 2011-10-17
Table of contents
1.0 Purpose
The purpose of this document is to communicate Measurement Canada (MC) policy requirements with regard to the breaking of a verification seal and the resealing of electricity and gas meters following corrective action(s) taken to address non-metrological changes resulting from non-conformities or errors.
2.0 Scope
This specification applies to electricity and gas meters which are intended to be used in revenue metering. It applies only to new meters and newly re-verified meters.
3.0 Authority
This specification is issued under the authority of section 18 of the Electricity and Gas Inspection Regulations (EGIR).
4.0 Terminology
- Authorized service provider (ASP)
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An organization that has been authorized to conduct inspections under the terms of the accreditation program.
- New Meter
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A meter newly produced by a manufacturer and verified by an ASP, under the controlled conditions and documented procedures of the ASP's quality management system.
- Newly re-verified meters
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A meter newly re-verified by an ASP under the controlled conditions and documented procedures of the ASP's quality management system.
- Sealing
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An action performed in order to secure a meter or metering device to prevent and/or detect unauthorized access to working parts or adjustments.
- Verification seal
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A type of seal controlled by an ASP or MC, bearing markings which indicate the year in which the meter was verified and the name or logo of the ASP or MC. This physical mechanism is used to secure access to a meter's metrological adjustments and sealable parameters so that access or changes to metrological adjustments and sealable parameters will be detectable.
5.0 Background
Occasionally, errors are discovered in the information marked on the nameplates of new electricity meters, such as an incorrect serial number or inspection number, which the meter owner wishes to correct by means of replacing or re-marking the nameplates before the meters are installed into service. Similarly, sometimes it is discovered that a group of new diaphragm type gas meters have been incorrectly sealed and the meter owner wishes to have the meters resealed by means of using a different seal type, or by re-routing the path of the sealing wire, or by replacing a plug seal which happens to have verification markings that are partially illegible or missing due to a faulty sealing tool, etc.
The purpose of this specification is to provide an authorized process for resealing meters in such circumstances that will ensure consistency in the actions used to correct and report on the above-mentioned errors and non-conformities.
6.0 Policy
6.1 Condition for resealing
Under the circumstances identified in this specification, MC will allow meter verification seals to be broken by an Authorized Service Provider (ASP), and the meters resealed after the necessary corrections have been made, subject to the following conditions:
6.1.1 The meters have not yet been placed into service following the verification or the re-verification, and have been put in storage according to the meter manufacturer's storage specifications.
6.1.2 The action of resealing shall be performed prior to the end of the calendar year that immediately follows the year in which the meter was originally sealed or re-sealed. E.g., a meter with a 2011 seal, can be re-sealed for non-metrological changes in 2011 or 2012, but not in 2013.
6.1.3 Any non-conformance or error being corrected is non-metrological and the action of correction shall not modify or have any impact on metrological parameters, meter performance, accuracy or operating characteristics. The corrective action must comply with all applicable requirements.
6.1.4 The ASP shall make a documented formal request to the appropriate MC Regional Alternate Service Delivery (ASD) Manager or MC Regional Accreditation Coordinator.
6.1.5 The action of making all necessary changes to the meters, including breaking the verification seals and resealing, shall be performed under the control of the ASP that originally sealed the meters (for example, a manufacturer may decide to go on site and make all the necessary changes). Also, a manufacturer based in the United States may decide to ship seals, new nameplates and directives to an Utility, and ask the same Utility to perform the changes for them. The MC region will monitor such changes.
6.1.6 Any new verification seal used to replace an old verification seal shall be marked with the original year shown on the removed verification seal.
6.1.7 The action of resealing shall be recorded on a Non-Conformance/Corrective Action Report issued by the ASP. A copy of the report shall be sent to the ASD Manager or the Regional Accreditation Coordinator.
6.1.8 The ASP shall supply the regional ASD Manager or the Regional Accreditation Coordinator with a copy of the inspection certificates or applicable meter records (for ASP's who are also meter owners) identifying the meters that were sealed.
6.1.9 The ASP shall indicate in the meter records and on the original inspection certificates, that the meters were resealed, including a description of the changes made to the meters. For example, if a group of meters were affixed with new inspection numbers, those numbers could be noted on the certificates or meter records, alongside the old incorrect inspection numbers.
6.2 MC Regional monitoring and decisions
The MC ASD Manager and/or the Regional Accreditation Coordinator are responsible for monitoring this process and to take appropriate decisions where applicable. They are the main MC contacts for the application of this specification.
6.3 Regional records and reports
MC Regions/Districts will keep records of any non-metrological changes performed that pertain to this specification.