Proceedings of 2010 IEEE Student Conference on Research and Development (SCOReD 2010), 13 - 14 Dec 2010, Putrajaya, Malaysia

NTL Detection of Electricity Theft and Abnormalities for Large Power Consumers In TNB Malaysia
J. Nagi1,* K.S. Yap2, F. Nagi3
Research Management Centre UNITEN R&D Sdn. Bhd. University Tenaga Nasional, 43000 Kajang, Malaysia {jawad,yapkeem,farrukh}@uniten.edu.my
1 2

S.K. Tiong1, S. P. Koh1, S. K. Ahmed2

Dept. of Electronics and Communication Engineering 3 Department of Mechanical Engineering University Tenaga Nasional, 43000 Kajang, Malaysia {siehkiong,johnnykoh,syedkhaleel}@uniten.edu.my

AbstractElectricity consumer dishonesty is a problem faced by all power utilities. Finding efficient measurements for detecting fraudulent electricity consumption has been an active research area in recent years. This paper presents an approach towards detection of Non-technical Losses (NTLs) of Large Power Consumers (LPC) in Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) Malaysia. The main motivation of this study is to assist Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) Sdn. Bhd. in Malaysia to reduce its NTLs in the LPC distribution sector. Remote meters installed at premises of LPC customers transmit power consumption data including remote meter events wirelessly to TNB Metering Services Sdn. Bhd. The remote meter reading (RMR) consumption data for TNB LPC customers is recorded based on half-hourly intervals. The technique proposed in this paper correlates the half-hourly RMR consumption data with abnormal meter events. The correlated data provides information regarding consumption characteristics i.e. load profiles of LPC customers, which helps to expose abnormal consumption behavior that is known to be highly correlated with NTL activities and electricity theft. Pilot testing results obtained from TNB Distribution (TNBD) Sdn. Bhd. for onsite inspection of LPC customers in peninsular Malaysia indicate the proposed NTL detection technique is effective with a 55% detection hitrate. With the implementation of this intelligent system, NTL activities of LPC customers in TNB Malaysia will reduce significantly. KeywordsNontechnical loss, Electricity theft; Fuzzy logic; Remote meters; Intelligent systems.

I.

INTRODUCTION

OWER utilities lose large amounts of money each year due to fraud by electricity consumers. Electricity fraud can be defined as a dishonest or illegal use of electricity equipment or service with the intention to avoid billing charge. It is relatively difficult to distinguish between honest and fraudulent customers. Realistically, electric utilities will never be able to eliminate fraud, however, it is possible to take measures to detect, prevent and reduce fraud [1]. Distribution losses in power utilities originating from electricity theft and other customer malfeasances are termed as Non-technical Losses (NTLs) [1]. Such losses mainly occur due to meter tampering, meter malfunction, illegal connections and billing irregularities [2].The problem of NTLs is not only faced by the least developed countries in the Asian and African regions, but also by developed countries such as the United

States of America and the United Kingdom. Specifically, high rates of NTL activities have been reported in the majority of developing countries in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) group, which include Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam [1]. As an example, in developing countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Lebanon, an average between 20% to 30% of NTLs have been observed [3], [4]. Investigations are undertaken by electric utility companies to assess the impact of technical losses in generation, transmission and distribution networks, and the overall performance of power networks [5], [6]. NTLs comprise one of the most important concerns for electricity distribution utilities worldwide. In 2004, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) Sdn. Bhd. the sole electricity provider in Malaysia recorded revenue losses as high as USD 229 million a year as a result of electricity theft, billing errors and faulty metering [7]. In recent years, several data mining and research studies on fraud identification and prediction techniques have been carried out in the electricity distribution sector [8]. These include Statistical Methods [9-10], Decision Trees [11], Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) [12], Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD) [13], and Multiple Classifiers using cross identification and voting scheme [14]. Among these, load profiling is one of the most widely used [15], which is defined as the pattern of electricity consumption of a customer [8]. NTLs for Large Power Consumers (LPCs) appear to have never been adequately studied, and to date there is no published evidence of research on detection of NTLs in the LPC distribution sector of the electricity supply industry. In [3], [7] [9], we proposed a NTL detection model using Support Vector Machines (SVMs) and the Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) for detection of NTLs in the Ordinary Power Consumer (OPC) distribution sector of TNB Malaysia. Currently TNB Malaysia is focusing on reducing its NTLs, in the LPC distribution sector. At present, customer installation inspections are carried out without any specific focus due to the remote meter reading (RMR) generating a large number of event logs for LPC customers. The huge amount of meter event logs causes confusion in detecting and shortlisting possible suspects from the RMR data. The approach proposed in this paper models an intelligent system for assisting TNBD Strike

This project is supported by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) Research in collaboration with UNITEN R&D Sdn. Bhd. of University Tenaga Nasional, Malaysia.

978-1-4244-8648-9/10/$26.00 2010 IEEE

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Engagement Against Losses (SEAL) teams to increase effectiveness of their operation in reducing NTLs in the LPC distribution sector. The proposed intelligent system will increase electricity theft detection hitrate for onsite remote meter inspection of LPC customers and reduce operational costs due to onsite inspection in monitoring NTL activities. The rest of this paper is organized as follows. Section II presents a brief review of NTLs. Section III presents the framework used for development of the LPC NTL detection model. In Section IV, the pilot testing results obtained from TNBD Sdn. Bhd. are presented and discussed. Finally, conclusions are presented in Section V. II. NON-TECHNICAL LOSSES

distribution sector, remote meters were installed by TNBD SEAL teams for all LPC customer premises. The current actions taken by the NTL Group of TNB to reduce LPC NTLs include: stepping up meter checking, reporting on irregularities, and monitoring unbilled accounts and meter reading and sales. The intelligent system proposed in this research study provides tools for multiple classification and detection of LPC NTL activities based on the available monthly RMR consumption data and RMR event logs of LPC customers. This NTL detection system is an enhancement of the previous NTL detection systems that were developed for Sabah Electricity Sdn. Bhd. (SESB), Malaysia [19], [20] and TNB OPC metered customers in peninsular Malaysia [3], [8], [9]. B. Data Acqusition Remote meter reading (RMR) consumption data and meter event logs for all LPC (LV and HV) customers for a period of one month (30 days) were acquired from TNB Metering Services Sdn. Bhd. The RMR consumption data and meter event logs for all customers are transmitted wirelessly to TNB Metering Services database. The RMR data is recorded based on half-hourly intervals, as indicated in Figure 1. The RMR event logs shown in Figure 2 are triggered by abnormal meter events such as AC Power Down, Voltage Cut, Reverse Current and Current Zero Sequence etc.

NTLs are mainly related to electricity theft and customer management processes in which there exist a number of means of consciously defrauding the utility concerned [3]. In most developing countries, transmission and distribution (T&D) losses account for a large portion of NTLs, which implies that electric utilities have to concentrate on reducing NTLs prior to reducing technical losses [16]. NTLs generally include the following activities [17], [18]: 1) Tampering with meters so that meters record lower rates of consumption; 2) Stealing by bypassing the meter or otherwise making illegal connections; 3) Arranging false readings by bribing meter readers; 4) Arranging billing irregularities with the help of internal employees by means of such subterfuges as making out lower bills, adjusting the decimal point position on bills, or just ignoring unpaid bills. By default, the amount of electrical energy generated should equal the amount of energy registered as consumed. However, in reality, this situation is different because losses are an integral result of energy transmission and distribution [11]. As some power loss is inevitable, steps can be taken to ensure that it is minimized. Several measures have been applied to this end, including those based on technology and those that rely on human effort and ingenuity [4]. Reduction of LPC NTLs is crucial for electricity utility companies, as these losses are concentrated in the high voltage (HV) network and are most critical at higher levels in industrial and large commercial sectors such as factories. As the current method of dealing with NTLs imposes high operational costs due to onsite inspection and requires extensive use of human resources [17]; therefore, this study aims to reduce LPC NTLs and operational costs in monitoring NTL activities. III. METHODOLOGY

Fig. 1. Remote meter reading (RMR) consumption data

A. Problem Background At present there are about 80,000 of low-voltage LPC customers and 6,000 high-voltage LPC customers that are generating approximately 80% of the total revenue of TNB Malaysia. In the effort of executing TNB Distribution (TNBD) Division's key initiative in reducing NTLs in the LPC

C. Data Preprocessing For the purpose of load profiling and NTL detection, the load consumption characteristics of the LPC customers need to be obtained along with their respective meter events. Hence, the RMR consumption data in Figure 1 and RMR event logs in Figure 2 for each LPC customer are correlated based on the half-hourly intervals with respect to the RMR consumption data, as shown in Figure 3.

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NTL detection categories (Type-1 through Type-5) are developed to form the NTL detection framework in Figure 5. The 5 types of NTL detection categories are determined by analyzing the monthly correlated RMR data and load profiles of LPC customers previously confirmed as fraud by TNBD customer onsite Strike Engagement Against Losses (SEAL) teams.

Fig. 2. Remote meter reading (RMR) event logs

Fig. 4. Monthly load profile (30 days) of LPC customer

D. Load Profiling The monthly correlated data provides valuable information regarding the consumption characteristics of LPC customers, which helps to expose abnormal consumption behavior that is known to be highly correlated with NTL activities. A load profile indicating the one month consumption period of 30 days (1440 load values) of an LPC customer with abnormal meter events is shown in Figure 4.

Fig. 3. Monthly correlated RMR data

E. NTL Detection Framework The monthly correlated data of the LPC customers is used to model a NTL detection framework as shown in Figure 5. Based on the information provided by the NTL Group of TNBD, confirmed LPC suspects after onsite inspection are commonly found performing electricity theft and fraud for smaller periods of time, generally lasting a few hours within the time frame of a week. Using this human knowledge with other intelligence from the NTL Group of TNBD, 5 types of

The 5 types of NTL detection mechanisms in Figure 5 emulate the reasoning process that human experts (TNBD SEAL teams) undertake in detecting abnormalities and fraud activities. Type-1 and Type-2 detections shortlist customer suspects with high possibilities of electricity theft and fraud while, Type-3 to Type-5 detections shortlist customer suspects with abnormalities such as abnormal meter events. The NTL detection methodology for the 5 types is elaborated as follows: 1) Type-1: If the customer has or more continuous or discontinuous point(s) of the meter events: AC Power Down or Voltage Cut with the condition that main (M) and check (C) meter for the customer have the same phenomenon. 2) Type-2: If the customer has or more continuous or discontinuous point(s) of the meter events: Current Zero Sequence or Cover Opened. 3) Type-3: If the customer has or more continuous or discontinuous point(s) of the meter event: Reverse Current where all occurrences within one interval (half hour) are counted as a single point only. 4) Type-4: If customer is a Full Day Operation (FDO) customer and the correlated data has a consumption drop with the meter conditions that no AC Power Down or Voltage Cut event occurs before the drop, where the drop is for points or more with the consumption during the drop being in the range of to percent of the maximum customer consumption. 5) Type-5: If customer is a Half Day Operation (HDO) customer and the correlated data has a consumption drop with meter conditions that no AC Power Down or Voltage Cut event occurs before the drop, where the drop is for points or more with the consumption during the drop being in the range of to percent of the maximum customer consumption. where , and represent integer values. FDO and HDO LPC customers in Type-4 and Type-5 detection mechanisms are classified using a simple logic-based approach.

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Input No
RMR Consumption Data

RMR Data less than a month

Read RMR Consumption Data into Database

Data Preprocessing
Correlate RMR Consumption Data with RMR Event Logs

RMR Event Logs

Yes

Check for Fraud Activities

Check for Abnormalities

Check for Incomplete Data

Type-1

Type-3

Type-2

Type-4

Type-5

NTL Detection and Classification

Detection Report
(Type-1 and Type-2)

Abnormality Report
(Type-3, Type-4 and Type-5)

Incomplete Customer Data Report

Detection Report Summary

Abnormality Report Summary

Output (Reports)

Fig. 5. NTL detection framework for LPC customers

If a customer load profile satisfies the condition that it has a constant consumption with a tolerance level within the range of 20% peak-to-peak (pp) kWh for duration of 336 points (one week) or more, then that customer is classified as a FDO customer. The load profile of a FDO LPC customer is shown in Figure 6. Alternatively, customers that do not satisfy the FDO condition are considered as HDO customers. The load profile of a HDO LPC customer is shown in Figure 7. IV. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Fig. 6. Monthly load profile of full day operation (FDO) customer

Pilot testing results obtained from TNBD SEAL teams for manual onsite inspection of LPC NTL activities provided feedback that an average detection hitrate of 55% was achieved. The detection hitrate obtained is for inspections carried out in the states of Selangor, Penang and Johor in peninsular Malaysia. Apart from detection of customers with electricity theft and fraud activities, the proposed system can identify LPC meters with the following abnormalities: 1) Voltage Tolerance 2) Low Battery Condition 3) No Internal Consumption 4) No External Consumption 5) Voltage Swell

Fig. 7. Monthly load profile of half day operation (HDO) customer

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The LPC Remote Meter Abnormality Detection System (RMADS) (in Figure 8) developed in this research study uses the NTL detection and classification framework is shown in Figure 5. The RMADS (intelligent system) will assist TNBD SEAL teams to increase the effectiveness of their operation in reducing NTL activities in the LPC distribution sector. V. CONCLUSION

[3]

[4]

[5] [6]

This paper presents an approach for detection of NTLs for LPC customers in TNB Malaysia. More specifically, this study develops a NTL detection framework for detection of fraudulent and abnormal load consumption patterns using RMR consumption data and meter event logs. Testing results obtained from TNBD Sdn. Bhd. Indicate that the proposed framework can be used for reliable detection of fraudulent electricity consumers and abnormalities. The current actions taken by the NTL Group of TNB in order to reduce LPC NTLs include: stepping up meter checking, reporting on irregularities, and monitoring unbilled accounts and meter reading and sales. With the implementation of the developed intelligent system (in Figure 8) an average detection hitrate of 55% will be achievable. This will benefit TNB not only in improving its handling of NTLs, but will complement their existing ongoing practices, and it is envisaged that significant savings will result from the use of this system.

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11] [12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18] Fig. 8. Remote Meter Abnormality Detection System (RMADS) [19]

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