Microcontroller based wireless power theft controlling system

Electrical power theft detection system is used to detect an unauthorized tapping on distribution
lines. Power theft is the biggest problem in recent days which causes lot of loss to electricity
boards. In developing countries like Ethiopia, these situations are more often, and if we can prevent
these thefts we can save lot of power. Monitoring the power means calculating the power
consumed exactly by the user at a given time. The power consumed by the user is measured and
communicated to the controlling substation whenever needed by the person at the substation. The
feedback from the user helps in identifying usages between authorized and unauthorized users
which helps in controlling the power theft, as it is one of the major challenges in current scenarios.
This project proposal aims at studying means of transferring the technologies involving in
realization of wireless power theft monitoring and then proposing feasibility and strategy of its
implementation in Ethiopia. To be more specific, after intensive investigation of state-of the-art
technologies and techniques, modeling and performance analysis of different power theft
monitoring techniques will be done. Then the best technology that can be used in Ethiopia will be
introduced, and it will be demonstrated through simulations. Finally, the project will be
disseminated through Workshops, demonstrating the prototype through simulations, written
documentation of the research output, and publications. This project can be expected to produce
a new insight and awareness regarding wireless power theft monitoring and controlling, which can
be direct input for electric power utilities to plan their service expansion and to provide lasting
solutions for their current problems. What is more, a new linkage between our university and
commercial companies such as Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation can be created on researches
in wireless power theft monitoring and controlling, which comprises researches in electrical
engineering, communications engineering, and related experts. In fact, this project will
demonstrate a prototype of a power theft monitoring system at simulation level.

Key words: Power theft, monitoring, controlling station, microcontroller