Smart meters raise privacy concerns

pgesmartmeter1 300x225 Smart meters raise privacy concerns New electrical meters are being rolled out to help reduce energy use, but privacy concerns have risen over how much data is being sent in real time to utility companies.

The devices send data on household energy consumption directly to utilities on a regular basis, allowing the firms to manage demand more efficiently and advise households when it is cheaper to turn on appliances.

But privacy experts gathered in Madrid for a three-day conference which wraps up Friday warned that the meters can also reveal intimate details about customers’ habits such as when they eat, what time they go to sleep or how much television they watch.

With cars expected to be fuelled increasingly by electricity in the coming years, the new meters could soon be used to gather information on consumer behaviour beyond the home, they added.

Also worrisome is the fact that, when these databases are hacked, criminals will be able to see exactly when people are home and when they are not. One only need to obtain access to the database, watch for a while, and determine the best time to rob a home.

More than eight million ”smart meters” have already been installed in the United States and the number is projected by the government to rise to 52 million by 2012.

Last month US President Barack Obama announced 3.4 billion dollars (2.3 billion euros) in grants to modernise the country’s electricity grid, part of which will pay for about 18 million ”smart meters.”

The European Parliament passed an energy package in April which proposed that 80 percent of electricity consumers have ”smart meters” by 2020.

In Italy 85 percent of homes already have smart meters installed, the highest penetration rate in Europe, according to the Future of Privacy Forum. France is second with a 25 percent penetration rate.

Unfortunately, politicians in Europe and America have decided that these meters are a good thing and we all must have them. No one, it seems, has looked a the privacy issues raised as we are all forced to blindly walk into the situation with a “let’s wait and see” attitude of exactly how much information is going to be gathered and for how long it will be stored.

pf button both Smart meters raise privacy concerns

markadamsjdmba

Irene, you are right on point here. I was informed by a power company employee that the new meters give the power company much more information about usage than the old meters do and that the FBI and DEA come to speak to the power company’s employees on a regular basis to tell them what to look for and report.

He said that an increase in electric usage resulting from installing a hot tub or pool would definitely be reported to the Feds and investigated. After all, if you use more energy, you might be a terrorist or drug dealer and you are certainly contributing to global warming which most scientists and the evidence indicates doesn’t actually exist. For more on that, see The Origins of the Global Warming Scare at http://dailycensored.com/2009/10/30/the-origins-of-the-%e2%80%9cglobal-warming%e2%80%9d-scare/

It appears that this is clearly yet another effort to monitor and control the populace. For more on that, see What’s New in the British Police State at http://dailycensored.com/2009/11/03/whats-new-in-the-british-police-state/

In case anyone thinks that the government just wants to look out for the people, see Why Does the Government Ignore Our Wishes? at http://dailycensored.com/2009/09/11/why-does-the-government-ignore-our-wishes/ and don’t miss my 18 minute speech. If you take a look, you’ll see that the government is out of control and systematically abuses Americans. My article on torture includes links to the government’s admissions about rape, torture and murder by government agents and a link to the U.S. Supreme Court case which explains how one of our stolen rights makes the difference between justice and injustice, between freedom and slavery.
http://smartgrid.testing-blog.com/2009/11/09/smart-meters-raise-privacy-concerns-dailycensored-com/ Smart Grid Blog » Blog Archive » Smart meters raise privacy concerns | Dailycensored.com

[...] via Smart meters raise privacy concerns | Dailycensored.com. [...]
http://joshfulton.blogspot.com Josh Fulton

I absolutely see this as being related to the whole Global Warming building codes people were talking about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9FX1fojAJM

They want to charge you if you’re “hurting the environment.” …In your own home.
C Margis

It’s nice to have another news outlet. The mainstream media is to choreographed between the networks.

About the article.

Cell phones have global positioning systems and can be tracked while on and maybe while they appear to be off. Cameras monitor your daily commute on the highway. The search engine you used on the computer stored your searches. When you used the store discount card they record your purchases.

Technology is great but theirs a trust in its use. Once that trust is broken people will find alternatives.

Remember that car that left you stranded in the middle of nowhere during a blizzard. Did you buy that brand or make again.

Once they charge you extra for using power at 7:00 AM you’ll make the coffee at 6:00.