November 2017 Was An Unusual Month
Here Is What Happened
Around noon on the 4th of November we suffered a power outage that lasted several hours. When the power returned the voltage was much lower than it had been by about 2 volts, averaging around 120 VAC, just where it should be under normal circumstances. "This is good", I thought to myself and hoped that it would last. And last it did ... until the morning of 28 November when the voltage suddenly climbed back up to where it had been before the outage. Well, I said "the voltage climbed" as if it had done so by itself. Of course, what actually happened was that Hydro One intentionally increased the voltage being supplied to my home and, presumably, all the other homes which had been affected by the power outage on November 4th.
Above is a graph of my voltage measurements for the month. The main point is the sudden drop in voltage on 04 November to a reasonable level (120 VAC) and the corresponding rise in voltage on 28 November, and you can see those changes in the graph. (You can also see the blank period from 8 to 12 November when no measurements were made, but this has no effect on our calculations.) Here is a summary of the calculated average voltages during the three important periods shown on the graph :
- Nov 1-4 (before the outage) : 122.9 VAC average
- Nov 4-28 (after the outage) : 120.44 VAC average
- Nov 28-30 (back to "normal") : 122.6 VAC average
- So, combining Nov 1-4 and 28-30 : 122.74 VAC average
If it had not been for the drop in voltage following the power outage, the average voltage for the month of November would have probably been around 122.7 or 122.8 VAC, very nearly in line with the averages for earlier months. For the first 7 days of December, the voltage averaged 123.0 VAC.
The sudden increase in voltage delivered to my home on 28 November which is continuing into December strongly suggests that it is Hydro One's decision and intention to provide a higher voltage than is necessary for the needs of my appliances, otherwise, they would have left the voltage where it was, averaging around 120.0 VAC, as the voltage had been set following the power outage of 04 November.
Explanation Needed
If Hydro One is going to use the excuse that my voltage has to be so much higher than 120 VAC so that other customers further down the same supply line can receive an average voltage of 120 VAC, I would like to know where these customers are located, in relation to my home, and the location of the place where the voltage is being set, in relation to both my home and these other, voltage-deprived customers. And the obvious question is, "What is the actual average voltage received by these customers?"