Patent Document ID: 9941740
Application ID: 15234759
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for identifying and locating non-technical losses in an electric utility power distribution inventory zone, the inventory zone comprising a plurality of nodes including at least one metered distribution node and at least two metered consumer nodes, the method comprising: obtaining inventory zone load profile data; obtaining consumer load profile data for the consumer nodes; determining bypass diversion factors for the consumer nodes and aggregate tap loads for the inventory zone that: solve a system of load balance equations for the inventory zone having known values corresponding to the inventory zone load profile data and to the consumer load profile data and having slack variables representing the aggregate tap loads, in which the known values corresponding to the consumer load profile data are scaled by the bypass diversion factors; and minimize an objective function whose value is positively related to the sum of the slack variables representing the aggregate tap loads; identifying a bypass diversion factor of at least two as a bypass theft and locating the bypass theft based on a location of the consumer node corresponding to that bypass diversion factor; and, cutting power to the consumer node corresponding to the bypass theft.