Effect of losses in design of distribution circuits

The impact of losses on the design of distribution cable and overhead networks is discussed. A minimum life-cycle cost methodology that balances the capital investment against the cost of the system losses is used as a basis for circuit design. The results obtained indicate that the utilisation of distribution circuits, particularly at lower voltage levels, should be quite low. The analysis also shows that the optimal design of the circuits with cost of losses taken into account is likely to satisfy the security requirements at no additional cost in most of the system.