Aussie technology to combat multi-billion dollar electricity theft

By
Friday, 24 January, 2003

Technology company Mikoh Corporation has announced it's providing technology to Invensys Metering Systems to combat the growing global problem of electricity theft.

Invensys Metering Systems is partnering with the Australian-owned company to incorporate Mikoh's radio frequency identification (RFID) security technology into its electricity meters.

US-based electric utilities are estimated to lose billions of dollars each year to electricity theft, and the problem is even more severe in other parts of the world, including Australia.

President and CEO of Mikoh's US subsidiary, Dr Peter Atherton, said that under the terms of the collaboration, Mikoh and Invensys would integrate Smart&Secure into the Invensys iCon solid-state residential electricity meter, taking advantage of the meter's existing Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) capability.

Dr Atherton said AMR was being increasingly adopted around the world because it allowed remote, automated, real-time monitoring of electricity usage.

"However, AMR increases the opportunities for meter tampering by the consumer because it removes the need for manual meter-reading and meter inspection," he said.

Under the collaboration with Invensys a miniature Smart&Secure reader housed within the meter will monitor a Smart&Secure seal applied externally to secure the meter and meter box.

The Smart&Secure reader will transmit tamper information to the meter's AMR module, which transmits data (including the meter's tamper status) to the electric utility's remote monitoring centre.

Smart&Secure uses a small and relatively inexpensive secure radio frequency transponder embedded in a security label or seal. Smart&Secure seals not only detect tampering but also allow detailed information to be stored securely and scanned at high speed.

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