Electricity Theft in Greece: Estimated Annual Loss at 450mln€

Greece’s state-run power grid operator on Monday released figures dealing with the long-standing problem of electricity theft in the country, citing up to 400,000 illegal connections that eventually burden law-abiding consumers with hundreds of millions of euros.

The company, officially known as the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO or DEDDIE), calculates that 13MWh of power are stolen per illegal connection over a two-year period, on average. The cost in terms of loss revenues from electricity theft is estimated at a whopping 450 million euros, which corresponds to 60 euros annually per every legal connection.

Based on the same figures, HEDNO estimates that electricity theft increased from 1.1% in the 2012-2013 period to current levels of 5% to 6%, a negative phenomenon linked to consecutives economic crises, the Covid-19 pandemic and the energy crisis of 2022.

Smart meters and stepped up inspections

At the same time, HEDNO sources claimed that this trend is dropping, in part to the gradual installation of “smart meters”, which allow the operator to constantly monitor power consumption and also pinpoint violations.

In 2024, for instance, HEDNO sources cited a reduction of approximately 9% in electricity theft, with 2025 witnessing a similar decrease. If the figures prove true and are added together, then the savings equate to roughly 10 euros per consumer/power bill.

The progress in stamping out electricity theft, according to reports, comes from stepped up yearly inspections, which have increased to more than 50,000 per year.

Sources at the operator pointed to remote metering, monthly metering, the use of algorithms/AI, on-site inspections and lab tests as tackling electricity theft.

The total benefit for compliant consumers over the period 2024–2025 is estimated at 150–200 million euros, derived from both a permanent reduction in losses and the utilization of fines collected through the regulatory mechanism.