Electricity Theft Mitigation at Low Voltage Distribution End Using Indirect Matrix Converter

Abstract

This paper presents the design and implementation of an indirect matrix converter for electricity theft mitigation at low voltage distribution network. The power distribution network saddle with the responsivity of delivering electricity to consumers are been face with electricity theft through meter bypassing and hook up connections, causing significant financial inflow problem to the utility company, particularly in a developing country. A step-down indirect matrix converter was designed and simulated with a frequency range of (10 – 20Hz) at the converter’s output. The analysis of the results favors the use of 10Hz being the worst-case scenario to mitigate electricity with a total harmonic distortion (THD) of 204.99%. With different resistive and inductive loads, the effectiveness of the real-world system was investigated and the effects of lowering the frequency from 50Hz to 10Hz were observed and in particular make the electricity unusable. The proposed system is intended to be connected at the output of the distribution transformer to convert the power frequency to 10Hz and the other unit incorporated to the meter at the consumer end to convert their power frequency to 50Hz to make it usable. This system prevents unregistered clients from using the electricity, substantially lowering electricity theft and boosting the utility company's bottom line. In comparison to previous studies, the key advantage of matrix converters is that they do not require a DC-Link capacitor, making them more reliable and suitable for installation at the customer's premises.