Improving the energy efficiency of the transportation process is one of the key tasks, the solution of which is one of the priority areas of the holding JSC «RZD» research. The successful solution of this problem depends, among other things, on the effectiveness of measures taken to reduce energy losses arising from electricity transmission to the consumer, which is the rolling stock of electrified railways. To develop a set of organizational and technical measures aimed at minimizing electricity consumption, an effective apparatus that provides determination of energy losses amount of in the electric-traction netware in real time is needed. The article proposes a method for hardware-analytical calculation of energy losses, which is based on an algorithm for processing the results of direct measurements. It is proposed to calculate power losses using laws and relationships known from the course of electrical engineering. A distinctive feature of the proposed method is the function of recreating the instantaneous circuit based on the data of currents and voltages measurements at the control points of a given section. The proposed method is suitable for use exclusively on DC electrified railways. Also, the paper presents the methods for determining energy losses used today in Russia, and gives their brief characteristics. The logical and mathematical apparatus of the method is described in detail, indicating the possible reasons that, in the process of synthesizing instantaneous circuits, can affect the occurrence of errors. An assessment of the study results of this method application in the electric-traction netware of railways is given.