AI will now catch electricity theft, meter tampering
In the ever-expanding list of what artificial intelligence can do, another glowing entry gets added. A research team from the University of Luxembourg has devised an AI engine that's capable of detecting electricity theft and meter misreading. It's been estimated that in some nations, over 40% of total electricity supply gets siphoned off by illegal means. Therefore, this development should come in handy. Here's more.
To devise this system, the researchers took into account the energy usage of 3.6 million Brazilian households for more than five years. After analyzing around 200 million monthly readings made by meter readers, the team developed an algorithm that's capable of sieving through readings in order to detect instances where the energy use was too low in comparison to the size of the establishment.
Researchers compared findings of the AI engine with data uncovered from past inspections. They were able to identify cases of meter tampering almost 65% of the time. The researchers said, "This could help better target physical inspections of properties, which cost time and money and can also be dangerous." An energy firm, involved in this research, is planning to use this AI engine in commercial software.
Meanwhile, in India, PM Modi has announced Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana. The scheme aims to provide power to every household in India. The total expenditure of this project would be Rs. 16,320 crore and the government budgetary assistance for it will be Rs. 12,320 crore. This scheme will facilitate electricity to all willing households and in general, improve the quality of life.
