Ghaziabad: QR codes on electric poles to check power theft

In a move to check faults and power theft, the Ghaziabad division of power distribution company – the Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) – has started putting up location-tagged quick response (QR) codes on all electric poles and transformers in the district.

According to discom officials, PVVNL teams can scan QR codes with their devices to gauge how much power was drawn from a pole or transformer. If there is a mismatch, the company can now pinpoint where the leak is, they said.

The chief engineer of PVVNL (Ghaziabad division), Pankaj Srivastava, said they have begun the process of putting up QR codes on every pole. “An independent agency was hired to put up stickers on all 280 transformers and over 250,000 poles in the district,” he said.

The discom has long been suffering from aggregate technical & commercial (AT&C) losses that have put a dent on its revenue. While technical losses include faults in the system, commercial losses are those due to billing issues and thefts. The annual AT&C loss in Ghaziabad is nearly 17% of the power purchased by the discom, said Srivastava.

“With the help of this new system, we can easily monitor areas reporting greatest AT&C losses and reduce the gap between the input we receive from power generation companies and the supply for which the payment is made to us, will be reduced,” he said.

The chief engineer said the new system will also make the billing process more transparent. “The accumulative consumption of power by the consumers will be matched with the units drawn from transformers of the areas concerned. If it is alarmingly low or high, the meter readers will be held accountable,” he said.

Under the system, Srivastava said, an electric pole will automatically send alerts to control room in case it detects a fault. “The system is such that if a fault is detected, it will automatically shut power in that location and alert the control room. Our enforcement wing can easily launch a crackdown against power thieves this way and correct faults,” he said.

Archana Lal, who resides in Vasundhara’s Sector 1, said the new system is supposed to give respite from frequent power outages in her area. “The moment power theft is checked, the power blues will be minimised. The new system will also give relief from the low-voltage problem, particularly in the evening hours,” she said.

BP Singh, a Indirapuram resident, said that after installing unique QR codes on the transformers and poles, the casual approach of meter readers will also be stopped. “They often make readings on the trial-and-error basis. The new system will definitely bring transparency in the billing system,” he said.