Non-Technical Losses Detection and Location for LV Systems Applying Smart Meters Measurements

Nowadays, the deployment of smart meters is increasing worldwide. The information provided by this equipment allows vast improvements to grid management. Among the potential applications, the mitigation of non-technical losses is an important benefit for the utilities and the customers. High levels of unknown consumption deteriorate the system operation and increase its costs. Usually, part of the non-technical losses costs is assigned to the customers, and part to the utilities, representing revenue loss and high-energy tariffs. In this scenario, this work investigates the application of smart meters measurements to detect and locate non-technical losses in low voltage systems. The proposed methodology is based on the coefficient of determination evaluation obtained from a multiple linear regression model of the circuit. The study cases show that the method can successfully detect and locate non-technical losses. However, factors as measurements accuracy, resolution, update ratio, desynchronization, and the amount of deviated power affect its performance.