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How AI Can Reduce Electricity Theft

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USM BUSINESS SYSTEMS
How AI Can Reduce Electricity Theft

 

Since renewable energy is more economically feasible, this has led to self-generation, with solar panels or wind turbines on the roof of our home. We hope that such installations will reduce our energy bills while helping the planet and everything at the same time.

If we cannot save the electricity generated, then it will fall and power theft is a surprisingly big thing. The Revenue Protection Association estimates that such theft costs 40 440 million a year in the UK alone. In Brazil, Electro bras claim that 22% of its electricity is lost due to fraud and theft.

AI to the rescue
In Brazil itself, a team of researchers from the University of Luxembourg tried to improve matters. The recently published paper documents the AI system they developed to reduce fuel thefts in the country.

Researchers analyzed the electricity consumption of more than 3.5 million Brazilian homes over five years, with professional meter readers making more than 200 million monthly readings.

They developed an AI algorithm that was able to detect when readings were suspicious. They used data from previous inspections to check if the conclusions they made were correct.

The tool can detect problem cases approximately 65% of the time, and the team believes it is better than other tools on the market today.

The team hopes that their tool will allow for more objective checking of features, while at the same time preventing people from interfering with very dangerous devices.

The tool is implemented by Smart Energy Company’s Choice Technologies, who also support research. The software is developed throughout Latin America.

The team believes the system can be implemented in Western countries as well, and many UK utility companies have agreed to share data with researchers to help identify thieves.

 

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