A Study on the Anatomy of Losses in Electric Energy Distribution

Non-technical losses represent 7,3% of the total energy distributed in Brazil. The correlation between socioeconomic indicators and losses suggests that the highest concentrations of fraudsters are in regions where the population has low purchasing power and reduced educational instruction. This work carried out observations in 45 distribution circuits, in order to collect information on irregularities in energy consumption. In order to characterize the anatomy of losses in these locations, crossings were carried out between different variables. The relationships were investigated using Pearson’s correlation tests, in addition to being graphically represented. The results indicate, that the greater the number of customers in the circuit, the lower the loss rate. It was also revealed that centralized circuits have lower losses than borderline ones. Finally, it appears that the percentage of anomalies tends to systematically decrease within a period of 6 to 11 years after the application of measures to combat and prevent losses.