An Alternative Proposal for Quantification of Technical Losses Using a Reduced Equivalent Circuit

Abstract

Electrical grid technical losses affects the electricity tariff and the planning of new lines. Nonetheless, their assessment by means of time-series or real-time simulations is computationally burdensome for large grids. In order to achieve simplified equivalent circuits, reduction techniques have been developed. The only one that is applicable for unbalanced grids is the multiphase reduction, but it does not preserve the losses. This paper proposes an algorithm that allows indirect evaluation of total losses, thus extending the multiphase reduction technique. In the validation process, IEEE 34-bus and a Brazilian real feeder are evaluated. A daily time-series simulation, with hourly loadshapes, is performed in OpenDSS. Using this novel method, the losses errors obtained are lower than 2%. The proposed algorithm, therefore, may be applied to speed up the definition of electricity tariff and the planning process of unbalanced grids.