The AT&C losses have dropped from 21.2 % (FY-21) to 15.4 % (FY-23)[1] for DISCOMs in India, driven by various measures undertaken across billing and collection efficiency. Though the AT&C losses have significantly dropped over the years, they are still higher in comparison to some of the peer global DISCOMs. These losses encompass both technical and commercial losses that affect the DISCOMs performance. From the DISCOMs standpoint this parameter is important as it provides them with electricity that is lost in system due to technical losses and pilferages like non-Metering/ Billing and inefficiencies in collection of electricity bills from consumers. There are multiple activities that affect the AT&C losses viz Electricity bill generation, bill delivery to consumer, Electricity Meter installation/reading and bill collections from consumers etc. The inefficiencies across any of the above-mentioned activities contribute to the AT&C losses. Globally and domestically up to certain extent technical interventions have enabled reduction of AT&C losses. The DISCOMs are actively exploring avenues like use of AI, ML, IoTs etc to improve upon their performance. Further machine learning algorithms are playing an active role in the power distribution sectors transformation which can be utilized to analyze historical consumption patterns, detect anomalies. By predicting anomalies and identifying inefficiencies, ML helps utilities minimize losses and enhance revenue collection.

Despite various measures, AT&C losses remain a significant challenge for electricity distribution companies, leading to financial losses and inefficiencies in the power sector. Leveraging AI/ML and other technology solutions to accurately identify and mitigate these losses these losses are crucial for improving the efficiency and sustainability of electricity distribution networks.

[1] PFC- 12th Annual Integrated Report for Power Utilities