Electrical energy theft is a critical concern with significant implications for the economic, reliable, and stable operation of power systems, especially in less developed countries. While technical losses occur during power transmission and distribution, non-technical losses, including electricity theft, pose a greater challenge to system stability by introducing unpredictability. This research presents an integrated Power Line Communication (PLC) with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) based technique, supported by high-frequency signal communication, to detect, monitor, and control energy theft. In the proposed scheme, high-frequency, low-amplitude signals are transmitted through the power system, and variations in the amplitude of both high- and low-frequency signals are analyzed to detect illegal energy consumption. As a result, the distribution system can be automatically disconnected from the rest of the power system in the event of a fault or theft occurrence. The MATLAB® (R2024a (v 24.1)) Simulink tool is used to design and analyze the proposed theft detection and protection model. The results demonstrate that the hybrid PLC–AMI technique efficiently detects different types of electricity theft loads and system faults.
- Open Access
- Article
Electricity Theft Detection and Protection in a Power Distribution System: A Modeling and Analysis Approach
Author Information
Received: 26 Nov 2025 | Revised: 15 Jun 2026 | Accepted: 15 Jun 2026 | Published: 24 Jun 2026
Abstract
Keywords
electricity theft | non-technical loss | frequency signal-based communication | fault detection | power system
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