This paper, attempts to comprehend and analyze the determinant socio-economic background of illegal
electricity consumption by estimating an energy theft equation through applying different econometric
techniques. For the estimation, provincial electricity theft and socio-economic data for the period of 2002
e2010 are employed. In Turkey, electricity theft leads to loss of substantial amount of dollars annually. This
is a primary and thorough study in literature that aims to help prevent electricity theft in Turkey by
determining the underlying socio-economic drives. Income, social capital, rural population rate, temperature
index, Southeastern Anatolian Region dummy, and agricultural production rate were identified as
significant determinants of electricity theft. Certain policy advice is also provided based on the findings