Development of methods for detection and location of non-technical losses exploring smart meters

Abstract

In Brazil and in several other countries, there is a growing awareness of nontechnical losses, which are associated to energy theft, nonpayment and measurements inaccuracy. The numbers associated to this problem are impressive. One can estimate that all around the world about US$ 200 billion are lost annually because of energy theft and equipment failures. In Brazil, the regional values of nontechnical loss considerably differ from each other. In 2011, for example, the utility called CELPA (abbreviation for Centrais Elétricas do Pará) registered around 40% of nontechnical loss while CPFL Energia (another Brazilian utility) registered only 2%. Even though 2% is a low percentage value, it represents a cost of R$ 120 million for CPFL Energia. Several methods have been proposed to identify such losses; however there is no established technique. Additionally, nowadays new functions have been integrated to the electronic energy meters, allowing access to additional information. With the increase in such functions and data communication, these smart meters can be used for the development of integrated techniques associated to the management of distribution systems. Until 2021, the Brazilian government aims to install around 63 million smart meters. In this context, this project proposes a new method to reduce nontechnical losses, which is potentially more sensible than the existing ones, allowing the improvement of detection and location of nontechnical losses in distribution systems. The proposed method is based on measurements from smart meters and on a modified load flow algorithm that allows using the relationships between measured and calculated greatness to identify irregular situations. (AU)