Abstract: A centralising meter is connected to a data concentrator via a first powerline communication network and to remote basic meters via a second powerline communication network. The centralising meter emulates a smart electricity meter application with respect to the data concentrator for each remote basic meter, in order in particular to construct a corresponding load curve. When the ratio of an energy consumption declared by all the remote basic meters to an energy consumption measured by the centralising meter is below a predefined threshold and when furthermore a plurality of load curves show a drop to zero, a fraud is detected. The centralising meter compares total energy consumptions estimated from extrapolations of certain load curves with the measured energy consumption, to identify which remote basic meter is subject to the fraud.

Abstract: A method of controlling the opening or the closing of an AC electric circuit in an electricity meter by means of a relay is provided. The method times relay activation commands so as to take account of the inertial delay (di) of the relay, in such a manner that the actual activation command applied to the relay causes the relay actually to take action on the electric circuit when an electrical parameter of said circuit reaches a zero value, in order to limit the formation of electric arcs in the relay.