Electricity metering for billing purposes is relevant to virtually everybody. As such, the measurement of electrical power and energy for accurate revenue metering directly affects all consumers. National Metrology Institutes provide traceability for electricity meters via AC power capabilities, and uncertainties of around 10 μW/W are common for sinewave powers of 50-60Hz.

Whilst this sinewave metrology is well established, recent problems caused by high frequency waveform distortions have led to some significant errors with certain makes of static and smart electricity meters.  Recent work has established the cause of these problems, as well as new testing protocols that will hopefully be used by standards bodies to address meter accuracy issues.

Other challenges in metrology in this area include metering at higher voltage and current levels for industrial purposes, measuring power at higher frequencies to assess equipment efficiency, and measurement of reactive power.