Development of Electricity Theft Detector with GSM Module and Alarm System

Electrical pilferage costs distribution companies millions annually. This dilemma, if continued unsolved, will greatly affect the economy. Electricity theft is the utilization of electricity without any contract with the supplier. To eradicate this crime, the development of an electricity theft detector with GSM module and alarm system was conceived. The study aims to design, fabricate, and test the functionality of an Arduino-based electricity theft detector with GSM module and alarm system. The circuitry is composed of an Arduino Uno module, GSM module, LCD, and current sensors. The system detects electrical pilferage whenever the current difference between the two current sensors, which are located on the drop-wire section and the electricity service cap, reaches a threshold. The microcontroller analyses the data given by the sensors, and whenever there is theft, it commands the system to alarm, and the GSM module sends an SMS prompt to the electric utility company. The prototype was overall functional, having an alarm time average of 7.752 seconds and an SMS prompt time of 15.584 seconds. Also, the average current sensor difference was 0.339 amperes. The threshold amperage was set to 0.2 amperes, for it is mostly the average current rating for most basic appliances, and any value lower would be affected by the transient stage of such loads.