The term 'burden' is used to describe the secondary load applied
to an instrument transformer; the reason for this is so that it is
not confused with the 'load' supplied by the high-voltage circuit
to which the transformer's primary is connected. A burden is either
a measuring instruments (ammeter,voltmeter, wattmeter, etc.) or
protective relay, depending on the function of the instrument
transformer. 'V.A' is the symbol for 'volt ampere', which defines
the 'power' rating of the instrument transformer.