Reduction and power losses in transmission and distribution systems

The very real power crisis in many developing countries calls for both innovativeness and efficiency in meeting the needs for electric power posed by social and economic development. One of the key elements in such a strategy is improving the efficiency of electricity transmission and distribution (in other words, reducing unnecessary losses in these parts of a power system). United Nations data, self-reported by individual countries, suggest that average losses in transmission and distribution systems across the region are about 13%. Other data, however, indicate that losses in many countries are on the order of 50% higher than the UN figures; for example, recent data suggest that losses in one country within the region are more than 30%. 22 refs., 8 figs., 3 tabs.