Method for detection and location of non-technical losses in distribution systems exploring smart meters

Author(s)

Thiago Sonnewend Diniz Ferreira

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de Computação
• Defense date: 2015-10-29

Examining board members

Walmir de Freitas Filho; Jonatas Boas Leite; Daniel Dotta

• Advisor: Fernanda Caseño Trindade Arioli; Walmir de Freitas Filho

Abstract

In Brazil and in several other countries, there is a growing awareness of non-technical 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 non-technical losses is estimated to be around R$ 8.1 billion, however its regional values 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. In this context, this work presents a new method to reduce nontechnical losses, which is 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)

• FAPESP's process: 13/09765-0 - Development of methods for detection and location of non-technical losses exploring smart meters
• Grantee: Thiago Sonnewend Diniz Ferreira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master