Distribution Network Energy Losses

Distribution Network Energy Losses

Who we are

We own and maintain electricity cables and lines across London, the South East and East of England and make sure power flows reliably, safely, and securely.

We own and maintain over 190,338 kilometres of electricity network, and 125,000 transformers, which we use to distribute circa 71,459GWh of electricity to 19 million customers we serve in an area over 29,000 square kilometres.

Our priorities are to tackle the climate crisis by connecting renewable energy, electric car chargers and low carbon heating, meet our customers evolving needs by improving our services, support our customers in vulnerable circumstances and go above and beyond for the communities we serve.

About energy losses

Energy losses represent a substantial but under-appreciated burden on customers and society. Energy losses are inherent to the transfer of electricity across the transmission and distribution networks and are estimated to be 7.2% of the total electricity consumed in Great Britain. 

Electricity networks totalled 21.4TWh of energy losses in 2023, a value expected to increase to 40.8TWh as the country moves towards Net Zero by 2050. The increase offsets a larger reduction from fossil-fuelled generators as the country transitions away from gas and coal, resulting in an overall carbon emissions reduction.  

Losses have a significant financial impact, estimated to be £1.24bn across Great Britain and funded by our customers, as well as an environmental cost of 3.19MtCO2 per year.

Our approach to managing and reducing distribution losses is founded on our overall vision, values and strategy as a top-class performer. We want to be an employer of choice, a responsible and trusted corporate citizen, sustainably cost efficient whilst enabling the Net Zero transition for all.

Nuno da Fonseca
Net Zero & Network Development Manager

Our strategy

The electricity distribution network, taken as a whole, represents one of the largest consumers of energy in the country. Losses arising from electricity distribution represent a substantial but under-appreciated burden on customers and society.

We are committed to reducing losses on our network and we publish an annual losses strategy detailing what we are doing. Whilst it would be great to remove all losses from the network this simply isn’t possible. Where we do tackle losses there is nearly always a cost in doing so and, to ensure our customer’s bills are kept as low as possible, we must ensure that the losses benefit of any work that we do outweigh the cost of doing that work.

Each year we publish our losses strategy, which outlines how we will achieve our vision of the greatest magnitude of loss-mitigation gains of any distribution network operator in the UK.

Our three key objectives:
Completed Maximise the amount of energy we save every year for our customers
Completed Integrate losses management further into our existing processes and systems
Completed Engage with stakeholders to promote loss-inclusive design, collaborate, share knowledge, and integrate this learning into our Losses Strategy

What are electrical energy losses?

Distribution network losses are the difference between the electrical energy that enters our electricity distribution network and the energy that is delivered to our customers.

Losses are the unavoidable consequence of transferring electricity across the network but can be minimised or reduced using appropriate strategies and solutions.

Find out more about the types of losses

Key documents

Environment and sustainability

Further details of our environmental commitments.

Open data portal

Total electricity energy losses for UK Power Networks distribution network.

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