Use of smart grids to monitor technical losses to improve non-technical losses estimation

Abstract

The process of obtaining technical losses in low voltage distribution networks is generally done in two steps. In the first step, the total loss is calculated, which is the difference between the total energy injected in the distribution transformer and the sum of the consumptions of all the customers connected to this transformer. In the second step, the non-technical losses are determined by the difference between the total loss and the technical losses. The estimation of technical losses in distribution systems has been very imprecise, either by approximations in the load representation, or by the calculation method. Furthermore, there are losses difficult to detect, such as losses in connections, those due to clandestine consumers, leakage in insulators, etc. This article proposes a new methodology to monitor technical losses using temperature sensors and sending data over a radio mesh network. It suggests simplifications compared to what was proposed in the IEEE 738, so that less hardware resources can be used, reducing costs.