Electricity theft concerns within advanced energy technologies

Developments in ambient energy and radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting have the potential to provide in situ power for sensor systems; however, they also have the potential to illicitly collect generated energy. Additionally, new methods of electricity theft have appeared with the introduction of smart grid components. This paper provides an understanding of electricity theft as it relates to advanced energy applications, e.g. energy harvesting and the smart grid. A discussion is also provided of the interdisciplinary, ethical and education issues of electricity theft as it relates to these domains.