[Big Bad Bob]

On 01/29/11 18:00, flipper so witilly quipped:
Point is, simply observing 125VAC on your wall outlet doesn't mean the
'line voltage' spec has 'crept up' as it's still within the 120VAC
nominal +5%.

if you consider how voltage is regulated, this spec is necessary. Line
voltage is typically regulated by use of a 'motorized transformer tap
switch' that selects different transformer taps (somewhat rapidly) off
of the substation transformer to regulate the line voltage. I would
also expect that line voltage would rise a bit during periods of high
usage in order to compensate for the I^2 * R losses that you get from
the wires running out of the substation into the various destinations,
so that nobody has "too low" of a voltage.

So if you're close to a substation, chances are your voltage is higher
than someone that's remotely located. Does anyone think that THIS might
be the source of the higher than normal voltages in AU? Are the
substations REALLY FAR APART? Longer distance would force the upstream
voltage to be MUCH higher if you want to maintain 'in spec' voltages at
the furthest downstream location.