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Recently published International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC) technical reports IEC 61000-3-13 provides detailed methodologies for managing voltage unbalance (VU) in electric power systems. A key aspect in the VU emission allocation process is the estimation of VU propagation in different parts of the network. Although the VU propagation from upstream networks to downstream networks is adequately addressed, the attenuation of VU when propagating from downstream to upstream networks at the same voltage level has not been properly taken into account in the aforementioned methodologies. Furthermore, mains connected three-phase induction motors are known to attenuate VU, and there is no methodology currently available to quantify the attenuation provided by such motors. The main motivation behind the current research is to investigate the VU propagation and attenuation in radial distribution networks and to quantify the attenuation provided by induction motor loads. This paper reports that the VU propagation from downstream to upstream in a radial distribution network with symmetrical distribution lines can be conservatively approximated by the ratio of fault levels of upstream and downstream network. Moreover, an influence coefficient has been introduced as a means of appraising the impact of induction motor loads. The theoretical work presented is verified using unbalanced load flow analysis. The outcomes presented in the paper are useful for the further development of IEC technical report on VU emission allocation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]