By Satish Saini, HEXstream utilities industry specialist  

As mentioned earlier in this series, T&D losses affect the financial health, operational efficiency and customer-service quality of utilities and further contribute toward environmental issues. Utilities must increasingly focus on developing and implementing strategies to work on this key area with the help of technology and solution providers.

With a big-picture perspective, there are two key steps toward lessening T&D energy losses:

• Adopting correct methodology to accurately detect and quantify losses across various nodes / sections of the grid
• Adopting mitigation measures to reduce losses at relevant infrastructure level feeding the suspected areas and segments 

The first component of accurately detecting T&D losses is crucial for mitigating losses. But it's not necessarily simple. The methodology involves several steps:

—Accurate grid-infrastructure, single-line and functional diagrams along with a “Dynamic Assets Registry Database” for all assets and components.

—An accurate “Dynamic Customers Account Database” mapped to upstream grid assets and aligned with “Dynamic Assets Registry Database.”

—Further mapping of these grid assets and end customers to Geographic Information System (GIS), which is helpful in identifying areas of interest and taking concrete mitigating efforts.

—Deploy grid-modernization and automation technologies (including energy measurements) at various segments of the grid for real-time data on energy flow up to the customer end.

—Automatic collection of power flow-data straight from relevant technology platforms on a real time / near real time basis, including historical trends.

—Perform “big data analytics” using the above inputs and relevant algorithms and methodology.

There's a lot at play here. But the potential gains with proper energy-loss mitigation are tremendous for all stakeholders. In short, it's worth the time and energy.

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AND CLICK HERE TO READ THE PREVIOUS INSTALLMENT IN THIS SERIES, FOCUSED ON THE FALLOUT FROM ENERGY LOSSES.