Privacy

The huge volumes of data that smart meters will generate raise legitimate privacy concerns. Are utilities equipped to protect the customer data they collect? Who owns the data? How will it be used? Scroll down for more on privacy challenges and building consumer confidence.

Deployment at the speed of privacy education

A new report from the Energy Department suggests that utilities should deploy the smart grid only as fast as they can address and explain privacy issues. The same real-time usage data that enables new features and benefits for consumers carries tremendous privacy implications. The report recommends that utilities clearly explain what they can and can’t [...] Read More

Smart grid operators must consider security

Protecting the security of the smart grid is a big and critical job. Lockheed Martin’s smart grid expert calls the grid a network with 440 million hackable points. He paints a potential doomsday picture where hackers could blackout neighborhoods, close hospitals and even fry equipment at the backbone of the smart grid that could take [...] Read More

Vermont Law School takes on smart grid privacy project

Two energy experts  hired by the Vermont Law School will work with students to research regulatory and privacy issues related to the smart grid, according to a report in the National Law Journal. The school received a $450,ooo grant from the Department of Energy to support the project that includes researching how utility companies are [...] Read More

Where does that smart meter data really go?

In this introductory piece on how the smart grid and smart meters provide two-way communication between households and a local utility, writer Stephanie Rogers offers a basic overview of smart grid privacy issues, the need for oversight and efforts under way to put consumer protections in place, primarily in Colorado. Get the details >> May [...] Read More

Can smart grid information threaten privacy rights? Yes!

In a presentation on privacy and the smart grid, Lillie Coney of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) outlines some of the ways the smart grid triggers public hot buttons on privacy matters and suggests why smart grid design will ultimately impact how well or how badly consumer privacy and security is protected. Get the [...] Read More