Is ‘energy saving services’ a strategic way to steal electricity?

Consumers of Malaysia are cheated by gangsters who offer a reduction of electricity charges by introducing ‘Energy saving services, as per the expert opinion of licensees such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB), the groups operate to perform power theft.
The means usually used by the perpetrators are introducing external bodies in the incoming sides of the energy meter, tampering with the physical condition of the meter, using a direct connection and bypassing the meter system. The targeted are ice factories, bitcoin mining operators, etc. Earlier in India, spurious signal injectors are introduced in the circuits to damage or slow down the energy meters. With the feedback from the distribution side of power utilities, the R&D wing of meter manufacturers made changes in the design of meters that can withstand electrostatic discharge(ESD) to a great extent. However, thieves always develop new methods to go ahead of any enforcement system with their out of box ideas. Utility engineers across the world have a tough time protecting the revenue by closely analysing the consumption pattern of the consumers to verify whether they are commensurate with the total capacity of machinery and their usage pattern. The power engineers have to update with the latest development globally to prevent the social evil of power theft.