Dr. A.G. Lazaropoulos (National Technical University of Athens, Greece) has investigated the possibility of detecting the hook style energy theft in the overhead low-voltage (OV LV) power grids. (Trends in Renewable Energy, vol. 5, pp. 12-46. doi: 10.17737/tre.2019.5.1.0081)
Different OV LV BPL topologies, intensities of measurement differences and hook characteristics have been considered. It is found that the detection of the hook style energy theft becomes easier when the hook remains short (i.e., shorter than 10 m). There are three issues that need further analysis: (i) the existence / definition of the threshold of the maximum value above which HS-DET method starts to give faulty decisions concerning the energy theft; (ii) the possibility of the installation of very long hooks so that HS-DET method can be jammed; and (iii) the use of “smart” hooks that are matched to the characteristic impedance of lines in order to cover the energy theft. ��� 8