The electricity sector in our state is so much large compared to others. There is a factor that causes losses in this sector. The losses are classified into two mainly based on the root cause.
- Technical Loss
- Non-Technical Loss
Let’s start with technical losses. It is a kind of loss caused during the transmission and distribution of power from the generating station to the end consumer. And the same is not possible to avoid but can be limited by using the latest technologies and proven standards across the power network. I am not elaborating on technical loss in this post, will explain more in another post. Now my point is non-technical loss, let us discuss this. The non-technical loss is meant financial loss caused by unpaid use of power by people. The unpaid use of electricity may be classified into two;
- Recoverable
- Non-Recoverable
The recoverable non-technical losses are the cases, caused due to the consumer using the electricity by his power connection and not paying the electricity bill to the utility. This loss may be recovered by proper interaction with the consumer and utility.
The non-recoverable losses are called THEFT, Yes, it is. Power Theft.
What is power theft?
Power theft is the unauthorized use of electricity without knowledge of the utility. Theft of electricity is the criminal practice of stealing electrical power. It is a crime and is punishable by fines or incarceration. In our society, it still exists, and is not possible to pluck from root till the people realize the cause. The laws haven’t enough strength to prevent theft in our society.
Types of power theft?
There are a few types of power theft are existing in our society and the types are the following;
- Hooking
This is the most used method found in our society, the direct hooking from the power line means the power is tapping from the utility’s distribution line. This kind of theft of power is an unmeasured and most dangerous act of power theft. - Bypassing
The bypassing of the energy meter means the input and output terminals of the energy meter are short-circuited and the power is bypassing the consumption recording function of the energy meter. - Installing external elements
In this method, the energy meters are manipulated by installing external elements like circuits or alike things. Here the external inspections are not provided any result of finding theft due to the external element being controlled remotely to slow down the consumption register of the energy meter. It requires time-consuming expert analysis to find the theft. - Physical Tampering
The physical tampering of the energy meters is nowadays a less found method of theft because of the physically obstructive electromechanical energy meters are mostly replaced with the latest digital meters. In the physical tampering method, the rotating element or the reading disc of the energy meter is obstructed using foreign elements like films, magnets, etc. this causes a slowing down of the disc and prevents the recording of the actual consumption. - Electro Static Discharge
The Electro Static Discharge (ESD) method is a modern technique used in modern meters like digital electronic meters. In this method, due to the ESD’s high electric field, the EEPROM gets reinitialized, and actual reading vanishes from memory. This kind of theft can be identified nowadays by accurate inspection and analysis of energy meters on-premises and high-end meters have built-in functionality to detect easily.
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is the sudden flow of electricity between two electrically charged objects caused by contact, an electrical short, or dielectric breakdown. A buildup of static electricity can be caused by tribocharging or by electrostatic induction.
The reason behind power theft
In my thought, there are literally two reasons for power theft, the one who steals the power
- Can’t able to PAY
- Don’t interested in PAY
The reason is due to the one who is under the poverty line and doesn’t have the money to pay for electricity. This kind of people is merely less in our society now except in north India. Here central government and various state governments are providing electricity for free or at the very lowest rate per unit, which can be affordable to below-poverty line consumers. And the government and utilities can educate them about the legal actions and such things, these kinds of people will never repeat due to fear in mind.
The real problem of theft is the second kind of people. They have enough money to spend, have above-average to high consumption of power, and the problem is their mentality. These kinds of people mostly remain in their worse acts of power theft or misuse of power after getting caught. In our country, the present law is not much powerful to prevent theft and uproot the causes.
Solutions to prevent power theft
It is so hard to prevent power theft 100%, especially in a country like India that is not under the fully developed category. Well, it is still possible to take some measures to prevent and tighten the law as taking power theft as national resource misuse with strong punishments. A few possible things to do are;
- Educate about power theft.
- Conduct inspections at regular intervals.
- Install technically advanced meters aka smart meters with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).
- Regulate intense laws against power theft. last and not least;
- The public must inform about any malpractice or theft known or found to the nearest Power Utility/Electricity Board Officials or Anti Power Theft Squad.