Evaluation and effective management of non-technical losses in electrical power networks

Market-driven power economies and deregulated electricity industry environments have stimulated the minimisation of technical and non-technical losses (NTL) even though they do not constitute major operational or quality of supply problems. Their negative impact on the economics of utility operations is often passed down as costs to consumers. NTL need to be addressed to determine the overall performance of power networks, as these losses are expected to be more dominant at the sub-transmission (132kV-33kV) and reticulation (22kV and 11kV) levels of the electricity supply industry value chain. In some national grid operations, NTL are estimated to account for up to 30% in revenue losses to electric utilities, and overhead expenditure in added maintenance costs. This paper discusses a method for NTL evaluation and an effective management approach to loss minimisation and revenue collection.