Non-technical losses

The majority of losses on the network are caused by technical losses. They are governed by the laws of physics and are necessary for the network to distribute electricity. They appear in a form of energy that cannot be utilised, such as heat, and they are therefore lost to the wider atmosphere. Non-technical losses describe where energy is used in a useful form but the energy isn’t paid for. This can be through an administrative error, such as where an unmetered connection uses more electricity than expected. In some instances people try to obtain electricity illegally, either by bypassing an electricity meter or illegally connecting to our network. In both of these cases electricity is extracted from the network without being paid for.

Losses describe the difference between the energy entering and leaving the distribution network. Where useful energy is removed from the network and not accounted for this adds to the level of losses that a DNO will report.

We can reduce non-technical losses by ensuring that all unmetered connection agreements accurately capture the customer’s energy usage. Theft of electricity can be harder to detect and although we actively look for instances of theft, we also rely on our stakeholders informing us of any illegal activity. Our Service Delivery Centre provides a 24 hours a day, 365 days a year emergency contact point that can receive telephone calls from members of the public and the emergency services. They capture details of the suspected theft and re-route these leads to the supplier or their appointed revenue protection agent. In certain emergency situations we may also dispatch our field resource to the site to ensure public safety.