The cost of electricity charged to consumers in Australia is predominantly set by state governments and does not vary depending on the actual cost that the electricity retailer has to pay the generators. This does not encourage users to reduce power at times of peak demand and the ratio between the peak demand and the average demand is growing. In the long term, user pays principle must apply and the cost of electricity charged will need to vary depending on the actual cost of production. This requires a communication system to be produced firstly to determine the date and time electricity is used, so that the usage and actual cost can be matched, and secondly to inform the consumer of the actual cost of electricity, so that appropriate actions can be taken, like turning off air conditioners when the cost per kW becomes high. There are two ways that such a communication system can be developed. Firstly it can use the PLC for carrying the communication signals. Secondly the communication systems can be carried by third party suppliers. The WiMAX radio system currently being rolled out in Australia in Victoria and mobile phone based systems are examples of such systems. Using PLC has the advantage that the communication system is fully under the control of the electricity company and no fees need to be paid to third party operators. In addition it is possible for the electricity supplier to use their power lines to provide BPL, giving internet access to customers, by putting communication signals up to 80 MHz onto the power lines. The frequency range used and bandwidth required for BPL is very different than that for PLC and the radiation losses are very different for BPL and PLC. When a power line is used for transmitting communication signals, signal power is lost through electromagnetic radiation. This may cause interference to other users. There is a concern about the amount of radiation from power lines (ACMA 2005, 2007), with amateur radio operators claiming BPL creates excessive levels of radiation. Unfortunately much of the amateur radio literature does not distinguish between BPL and PLC. The second loss factor is resistive losses, which due to the skin depth causes an increasing attenuation with frequency. The Matlab® program described in this paper and the results obtained from this program provide a rigorous basis for determining both the resistive losses and the radiation obtained from power lines. Electricity distribution companies and other communication providers can use this data to determine the feasibility of power line communications in their region. SWER power lines are used in remote areas and are single phase lines where the ground is relied upon for the return path. As these power lines can be up to 300 km long, there is a