Introduction to Detection of Non-Technical Losses using Data Analytics

Electricity losses are a frequently appearing problem in power grids. Non-technical losses (NTL) appear during distribution and include, but are not limited to, the following causes: Meter tampering in order to record lower consumptions, bypassing meters by rigging lines from the power source, arranged false meter readings by bribing meter readers, faulty or broken meters, un-metered supply, technical and human errors in meter readings, data processing and billing. NTLs are also reported to range up to 40% of the total electricity distributed in countries such as Brazil, India, Malaysia or Lebanon. This is an introductory level course to discuss how to predict if a customer causes a NTL. In the last years, employing data analytics methods such as data mining and machine learning have evolved as the primary direction to solve this problem. This course will compare and contrast different approaches reported in the literature. Practical case studies on real data sets will be included. Therefore, attendees will not only understand, but rather experience the challenges of NTL detection and learn how these challenges could be solved in the coming years.