IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER APPARATUS AND SYSTEMS, VOL. PAS-87, NO.

12, DECEMBER 1968 1991

Determination of Primary-Feeder Losses

NELSON E. CHANG, MEMBER, IEEE

Abstract-A method is presented for determining power and

energy losses in primary feeder, and a plan is described for mech-
anized data collecting and processing for the determination of such SOURCE R
LOAD
losses. A computer program capable of handling any number of
radial distribution circuits with various line equipment has been Fig. 1. Primary feeder supplying concentrated load.
developed to calculate primary-feeder losses.

-. R,x 12 3
INTRODUCTION
WHAT THE electric distribution losses are and where they
occur throughout an electric system are of great interest
SUBSTATION A
½ CONC. LOAO
to engineers and management in planning an economic electric UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED LOAD
system and in developing an equitable rate structure for different Fig. 2. Primary feeder supplying concentrated and
classes of customers. uniformly distributed loads
Electric distribution losses may be divided into two types:
1) power losses and 2) energy losses. The power losses at the
time of system peak increase the requirement of generating or
capacity, while the energy losses make it necessary to supply active power or I2R loss = (IR2 + Ix2)R (1)
additional energy over that required by the system load. Alloca-
tion of these losses may be made according to the general com- reactive power or D2X loss = (IR2 + IX2)X (2)
ponents of an electric system as follows:
where
1) transmission system losses
a) high-voltage transformer losses IR in-phase or active component of current
b) transmission line losses Ix out-of-phase or reactive component of current
c) substation transformer losses V voltage drop along the line.
2) distribution system losses
a) primary-feeder and line-equipment losses The equations of line losses for primary feeders with uniformly
b) distribution transformer losses distributed load and with a combination of concentrated and
c) secondary and service losses uniformly distributed loads are derived in the Appendix.
d) meter losses. Many previous papers have analyzed distribution-system
problems on the basis of uniform load distribution or its equiv-
Losses in transmission components are relatively simple to alent. The assumption of uniform load distribution imposes
determine on account of the recording meter readings generally certain restrictions, and sometimes the calculation will not
available on both input and output terminals of these com- produce correct results. The representation of a feeder by a
ponents. However, no comparable source of information is number of line sections with a combination of concentrated and
available on distribution system components, and the losses in uniformly distributed loads overcomes such restrictions and is
them must be calculated from known circuit parameters and more realistic and accurate.
loads. Moreover, although much has been published on the loss- The active power loss L in a uniform line section of a three-
coefficients method of calculating transmission line losses in phase primary feeder, having a combination of concentrated
conjunction with load-flow studies of power systems, few refer- and uniformly distributed loads as shown in Fig. 2, is given by
ences could be found on the subject of distribution system losses.
The following paragraphs describe a method of calculating the
power and energy losses in distribution primary feeders and L =
1
f/f\2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(I
3 \kV
(kVA12 + kVA1kVA2 + kVA22)R/1000 kW (3)
present a plan for mechanized data collecting and processing for
the determination of such losses. where
LINE LOSSES IN PRIMARY FEEDER
kVA1 connected load at start of line section
The line losses per phase of a balanced three-phase primary kVA2 connected load at end of line section
feeder with concentrated load, as shown in Fig. 1, is given by kV line-to-line voltage
V*I = Z*I*I = 12(R - jX) R line resistance in ohms
f capacity factor or ratio of peak demand to connected
load.
Paper 31 TP 67-413, recommended and approved by the Power
System Engineering Committee of the IEEE Power Group for There is a possible slight error in the calculated power loss if
presentation at the IEEE Summer Power Meeting, Portland, Ore.,
July 9-14, 1967. Maniuscript submitted April 3, 1967; made available voltage is assumed constant throughout the feeder. Actual volt-
for printing June 6, 1968. age at each line section should be used in the equation for exact
The author is with the Long Island Lighting Company, Hicksville,
N.Y. 11801. solution.
1992 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER APPARATUS AND SYSTEMS, DECEMBER 1968

SUBSTA I N
SUBSTAfION
I1 1, LOAD
The ratio of primary-feeder load at time of the system peak
to that at time of the feeder peak may be defined as the peak
responsibility factor or system-peak coincidence factor fs. Then
the power losses of a primary feeder at time of the system peak
Id *-II12 may be calculated from (3)-(6) by simply substituting a new
capacity factor f' for f, where
f' = fsf. (7)
It should be noted that (3) and (4) are equally applicable to
reactive power losses by simply substituting the reactance X
Ii
- l,- -4I-h-2 for the resistance R.
Fig. 3. IPR loss reduction due to capacitors.
ENERGY LOSSES IN PRIMARY FEEDER
Loss REDUCTION DUE TO CAPACITOR The annual energy loss EL due to line resistance in a three-
phase primary feeder is given by
The IPR loss reduction AL due to capacitor for a three-phase
line section with a combination of concentrated and uniformly EL = (L) (FLS) (8760) kWh (8)
distributed loads, as shown in Fig. 3, is given by [1 ]:
where FLS is the loss factor.
AL =
a
[2f kvar1kvarc - af(kvar, - kvar2)kvarc - kvarc2] Similarly, the energy loss in line equipment such as a step-
kV2 down transformer is
-R/1000 (4) (kVA lod) 2
ELe = (Lce) (8760) + (Lcu) \\kVA rated (FLS) (8760). (9)
where
kvar1 reactive load at start of line section before capacitor is The energy loss reduction AEL due to capacitor in a three-
added phase primary feeder with a combination of concentrated and
kvar2 reactive load at end of line section before capacitor is uniformly distributed loads is given by
added a
kvarc capacitor kilovars AEL = [2FLDf* kvarlkvarc
a fraction of line section length from start to capacitor. kV'

The capacitor losses, about 2 watts per kvar or in watts per - aFLDf(kvarl - kvar2)kvarc - kvarc2]R(8.76) kWh (10)
capacitor as designated, should be deducted to obtain the where FLD is the reactive load factor.
net loss reduction due to capacitor. The total annual energy loss ELr in a three-phase primary
feeder is
LOSSES IN OTHER LINE EQUIPMENT
ELr = EL - AEL + ELe. (11)
Power losses in other line equipment such as booster, voltage
regulator, and stepdown transformer consist of core and copper
losses. The power loss Le of a booster or stepdown transformer at COMPUTER PROGRAM
any load is given by Primary-feeder losses may be calculated with a computer
program similar to that for voltage profile calculation described
/ kVA load \2 in [2], using the same input data format. The program calculates
Le = Lce + Lc kVA latd} kW
kkVA rated/ the I2R loss of each line section, the loss reduction due to ca-
pacitors, the loss in other line equipment, and the peak power
where loss. It also gives percent peak power loss in terms of feeder load
and the annual energy loss. Sample input data and a printout of
Lee core loss in kilowatts the computer solution are illustrated in Fig. 4.
Lc. copper loss at rated load in kilowatts. It should be noted that the same input data are also used
Power losses of voltage regulator at specified regulation set- in voltage-profile and fault-current calculations, and capacitor
tings may be obtained from the manufacturer and should be and voltage regulator application computer programs [1], [2].
included in the calculation if such equipment is used along the This has been very helpful in coordinating the various distri-
feeder. bution feeder performance programs and reducing the data
preparation time.
POWER LOSSES AT TIME OF SYSTEM PEAK
PLAN FOR DETERMINATION OF PRIMARY-FEEDER LOSSES
The peak power loss LT in a three-phase primary feeder is the
sum of line loss, loss reduction, and equipment loss given by Determination of primary-feeder losses by the direct approach
of getting simultaneous readings during the system peak has not
(3)-(5): yet been practical. However, with a judicious assembly of meter
LT = L -AL + Le. (6) readings and circuit parameters it is possible to obtain meaning-
CHANG: DETERMINATION OF PRIMARY-FEEDER LOSSES 1993

I. IWUT DATA

FDR NO. KV C PF CF LSF RLF

5U- 274 13.20 0 0.98 0.90 0*19075 0.425

STA. STA. DIST NO WIRE SIZE CONN.KVA CAP. E TAP. STEPDOWN C

NO. CODE MFT PH CU AL INTO FROM KVAR C REG.V KVA S.KV C
10 1.6 3 10 7140 7660 1200
20* -1 3.2 3 30 5705 7140 600
21. 1 1.4 3 6 365
30. -1 0.8 3 10 5200 5340 600
31. -1 2.8 3 10 1715 2650 600
31.01 1 1.6 3 30 965
32. 2.0 3 3 565 750
33. 1.6 3 3 80 565
34. 1 2.8 1 6 80
40 -1 2*0 3 3 2280 2550
41. 1.2 3 3 75 450
42. 1 2.4 1 6 25 75
50. -1 0.8 3 3 1580 1830
51. 2.4 3 3 255 480
52. 1.0 1 3 75 255
53. 1 1.0 1 6 75
60. 1*6 3 3 900 1100
70. 2.0 3 3 65 710
80. 1 1.6 1 6 65

II. C0ISCfR OUTPUT

FDR NO. KV C PF CF LSF RLF KVA KVAR CKVAR NKVAR NKVA KW PL PCL RL

5U- 274 13.20 0 0.98 0.90 0*19075 0.425 7229 2572 1200 1372 6894 6756 146.3 2.16 234.6 180.0
5U- 275 13.20 0 0.95 0*86 0.21000 0.40C 5472 2754 1200 1554 4977 4728 53.2 1*12 113.7 105.b
5U- 276 13*20 0 0.99 0.95 0*1850U 0.410 7800 2835 1800 1035 7340 7266 224.2 3.08 381.2 320 .2

TPLa 423.8 TELL 72905

FDR feeder CKVAR capacitor kvar
KV line to line kV NKVAR net kvar (capacitor corrected)
C connection code NKVA net kVA (capacitor corrected)
PF power factor KW kW load
CF capacity factor PL peak loss
LSF loss factor PCL percent peak loss
RLF reactive load factor EL energy loss, annual
KVA kVA connected load RL reactive loss
KVAR kvar reactive load TPL total peak loss
TEL total energy loss
Fig. 4. Sample input data and computer printout.

ful results by calculation using (3)-(11). Based on experience in

the Long Island Lighting Company, we believe that the following
plan for mechanized data collecting and processing for deter-
mination of primary-feeder losses is useful and practical:
1) of magnetic or punched tape recording watt and var
use PRIMARY CIRCUIT
ASSEMBLY l
meterson feeders for substation load survey, PROGRAM
K
2) a digital computer program for calculating the demands,
power factors, and load factors from substation load survey PRIMARY FEEDER TRANSFORMER |TSECONDARY a 1
data, LOSS CALCULATION LOSSES | SERVICE LOSSES
PROGRAM CALCULATION CALCULATION
3) a digital computer program to calculate the primary-
feeder losses from circuit parameters and substation load
C COMPLETE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
survey results. -POWER a ENERGY LOSSES )

In the future, the primary-feeder-losses program may be Fig. 5. Computerized method for determination of primary-feeder
linked up with the transformer- and secondary-losses computer losses.
programs, sharing the data that are common to all, for an inte-
grated, computerized method of determining complete distri- two terminal pole locations. Transformers and other line equip-
bution system losses. One possible way of accomplishing this ment mounted on poles are also identified by pole location
objective is illustrated in Fig. 5. An important link in this numbers and, therefore, it is possible to associate the trans-
method is the primary-circuit assembly program that would formers and other line equipment with the line sections and the
automatically assemble and update a complete primary circuit line sections with the primary feeder. Thus the transformer load
from a line section record. Each line section represents basically a monitoring and other load survey programs could provide the
part of the feeder between sectionalizing devices, conductor size load inputs directly to the loss-calculation programs for deter-
changes, number of phase changes, or other points of electrical mining the complete distribution-system losses conveniently
interest, and is identified by the grid coordinate numbers of its and accurately.
1994 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER APPARATUS AND SYSTEMS, DECEMBER 1968

CONCLUSION substituting (13) in (12) we get

This paper has presented a method of calculating power
and energy losses of primary feeders and described a plan for L = (kVA12 + kVA1kVA2 + kVA22)R. (14)
mechanized data collecting and processing for the determination
of such losses. The computer program developed for primary- Special Cases
feeder-losses calculation can handle any number of radial distri-
bution circuits and gives the results on power losses in kilowatts 1) Uniformly distributed load:
and in percent of feeder load, and the annual energy losses in I2 = 0 or kVA2 = 0
megawatthours. An initial step has been taken toward a com-
puterized method of determining the distribution-system losses. and from (14) we get
Much remains to be done, however, to complete this work.
L = l(fkVA)12
3 kV
R (15)
APPENDIX
EQUATIONS FOR I2R LOSSES OF PRIMARY FEEDERS 2) Single-phase tap of grounded-Y system:
Consider a feeder section of uniform wire size, havi ng a f * kVA1 f kVA2
combination of concentrated and uniformly distributed three- '1 kV/V3' kV/V\3
phase loads as shown in Fig. 2. Let
I1 line current at start of feeder section L = - (112 + 112 + 122)R
line current at end of feeder section 3
I2
Il line current to uniformly distributed load on feeder
section, = Il - 12 = 2 (4) (kVA12 + kVA1kVA2 + kVA22)R. (16)
kVA, connected load at start of feeder section
kVA2 connected load at end of feeder section ACKNOWLEDGMENT
kV line-to-line voltage The author gratefully acknowledges the encouragement and
R total resistance of feeder section contribution of J. A. McDougall of Long Island Lighting Com-
f capacity factor or ratio of peak demand to conn(ected
load. pany.
We have REFERENCES
[1] N. E. Chang, "Optimum allocation of shunt capacitors and
L = 12R loss of feeder section voltage regulators on primary feeders," presented at IEEE
Winter Power Meeting, New York, N.Y., January 29-February
3, 1967.
= 3]' (Il - IdX)21dX [2] N. E. Chang and J. Y. Louis, "Voltage profile and fault current
calculations for distribution lines," IBM 1620 General Program
Library Publ. 9.4.056.
= (I12 + I112 + I22)R. (12) [3] R. F. Cook, "Calculating loss reduction afforded by shunt
capacitor application," IEEE Trans. Power Apparatus and
Since Systems, vol. 83, pp. 1227-1230, December 1964.
[4] R. Berg, Jr., E. S. Hawkins, and W. W. Pleines, "Mechanized
fVkVA1 f *kVA2 calculation of unbalanced load flow on radial distribution
I, =
V\ 3-kV I2= Vk-
A 3kV
(13) circuits," IEEE Trans. Power Apparatus and Systems, vol.
PAS-86, pp. 415-421, April 1967.

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