Design and Implementation of Modular Smart Meter Device to detect and locate Power Theft using PLC Communication

India is a country with a vast population of 13 billion people. With such a vast power system network, India's power system experiences a loss of INR 3000 crore due to power theft. In 2016, India reported a loss of 16.2 billion USD due to power theft. Losses are generally classified into technical and non-technical losses. The difference between energy consumed by metered loads and the total energy supplied by the distribution transformer is referred to as non-technical loss. Non- technical losses mainly refer to the power theft through meter tampering and tapping the low-tension lines in the distributed network. This paper proposes a feasible solution for the power theft problem by implementing a modular device that can partially convert the conventional electromechanical meters into smart meters that can utilize PLCC as a means of communication. The power theft detection system has been implemented in the Simulink environment.