Extended smart meters-based remote detection method for illegal electricity usage

Power delivery systems that use power lines can communicate with other electrical systems, monitor the quality of electrical energy and provide an economical solution for automatic meter reading (AMR). Energy meters can be connected to a low-voltage power system by power line carriers for all consumers. Illegal electricity usage in the power delivery system can be easily detected if AMR is installed in the system, which consists of a terminal smart meter (TSM) and a gateway smart meter (GSM). This study proposes a novel remote detection method for illegal electricity usage that uses both TSM and GSM, where the TSM and the GSM are installed on the power system of each consumer and on the node of the power system feeder, respectively. TSM and GSM simultaneously disconnect an electrical source for a very short period of time. After this, the proposed detection method sends a low-voltage signal with a high frequency from the TSM to the GSM during the time of disconnection. Once the signal has passed, the proposed detection method detects illegal electricity usage by measuring the amount of time it was disconnected. This study presents the structure of the proposed detection method as well as the mathematical model, proof, simulation and experimental results.