Demand kVA Decreasing Periodically

My first guess would be a reduction in consumption.

Thanks, it is under my list of considerations.

suddenly the demand has decreased

Ace is in USA, so he is taking honesty as a given.

We know better don't we? Sudden change is status quo is fishy. Go check for permanent magnets below the induction disc for example....

btw, Ace, is that Washington state or DC? if it is the latter, i take back what i said above.

I bet on State rather than DC, but have wondered the same.

The State. I heard a rumor that one of my neighbors hooked up cable TV without paying. That is pretty much the crime of the decade around here.

Wisdom

Are you using an electronic meter? If not, the comment above regarding a system to mess with the meter is a possibility, or a "problem" with the connections may be the cause. However, since you mention multiple clients, I'm assuming that this is not the case. It may be wise to look at the time-graph of the kVA consumption, it can give some ideas.

If you are looking at the total demand (kVA, not kWh consumption) of multiple clients, there are some other options to consider:

1. It could be that one of the clients are doing load shifting by changing production hours, etc., so that not all the 08:00 peaks add up anymore, but are more smoothed down (better load factor).
2. An industrial consumer may have moved to a different product to manufacture, a product that coincidentally uses less power to make.
   
3. With the swing to winter (I assume your installation is in South Africa), it could also be that client with a major refrigeration/freezing/air conditioning load are now consuming less power.
4. With the recent massive 30% increases in electricity prices, industrial clients may have moved away from electricity as prime source for heating, moving to natural gas or coal. I also see a lot of investment in solar water heating.
5. The higher electricity prices also means a quicker payback period for more energy efficient process equipment (motors, etc.), but I doubt that that alone would be so significant. A consumer with a bad power factor that installed power factor correction equipment could make a significant difference in KVA readings though (but not in kWh).
   
6. The simplest answer would be that one of the industrial places closed down, leading to a reduction in consumption!
   

Hi Gideon, you are a star.

Yes, I m using an electronic meter.

I am considering looking at the 30 minutes time-graphs of the kva to pick up the initial period this decrease in demand started and also auditing the client's installation to verify the 1st four points you have indicated and yes, my installation is in South Africa.

Will be back with an update after a week or so.