Smart meter
[1][2] More generally, a smart meter is an electronic device that records information such as consumption of electric energy, voltage levels, current, and power factor.
Smart meters communicate the information to the consumer for greater clarity of consumption behavior, and electricity suppliers for system monitoring and customer billing.
[12] H.M. Zahid Iqbal, M. Waseem, and Dr. Tahir Mahmood, researchers of University of Engineering & Technology Taxila, Pakistan, introduced the concept of Smart Energy Meters in 2013.
[citation needed] An academic study based on existing trials showed that homeowners' electricity consumption on average is reduced by approximately 3-5% when provided with real-time feedback.
As part of an AMI, utilities can use the real-time data from smart meters measurements related to current, voltage, and power factor to detect system disruptions more quickly, allowing immediate corrective action to minimize customer impact such as blackouts.
By leveraging appropriate connectivity solutions, smart meters can address diverse environmental and infrastructural needs while delivering seamless communication and enhanced functionality.
It facilitates reliable, high-speed data exchange over PLC networks, focusing on energy monitoring, demand response, and secure two-way communication between utilities and consumers.
Known as Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM), this emerging method offers insights into energy efficiency, helping users optimize usage and reduce costs.
ITU-T commissioned in 2010 a new project called G.hnem, to address the home networking aspects of energy management, built upon existing Low Frequency Narrowband OFDM technologies.
Some groups have expressed concerns regarding the cost, health, fire risk,[54] security and privacy effects of smart meters[55] and the remote controllable "kill switch" that is included with most of them.
The (now former) attorney general of Connecticut has stated that he does not believe smart meters provide any financial benefit to consumers,[56] however, the cost of the installation of the new system is absorbed by those customers.
The guidelines "...present an analytical framework that organizations can use to develop effective cybersecurity strategies..."[63] Implementing security protocols that protect these devices from malicious attacks has been problematic, due to their limited computational resources and long operational life.
[70] Daniel Hirsch, retired director of the Program on Environmental and Nuclear Policy at UC Santa Cruz, criticized the CCST report on the grounds that it did not consider studies that suggest the potential for non-thermal health effects such as latent cancers from RF exposure.
"[71] The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted recommended Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for all RF transmitters (including smart meters) operating at frequencies of 300 kHz to 100 GHz.
[73] An indirect potential for harm to health by smart meters is that they enable energy companies to disconnect consumers remotely, typically in response to difficulties with payment.
In July 2014, SaskPower, the province-run utility company of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, halted its roll-out of Sensus meters after similar, isolated incidents were discovered.
[77] Furthermore, the fine-grained information collected by smart meters raises growing concerns of privacy invasion due to personal behavior exposure (private activity, daily routine, etc.).
After receiving numerous complaints about health, hacking, and privacy concerns with the wireless digital devices, the Public Utility Commission of the US state of Maine voted to allow customers to opt-out of the meter change at the cost of $12 a month.
The state's Attorney General George Jepsen was quoted as saying the proposal would cause customers to spend upwards of $500 million on meters and get few benefits in return, a claim that Connecticut Light & Power disputed.
[96] Additionally smart meters allow energy suppliers to switch customers to expensive prepay tariffs instantly in case of difficulties paying.
In the Chicago area, Commonwealth Edison ran a test installing smart meters on 8,000 randomly selected households together with variable rates and rebates to encourage cutting back during peak usage.
Susan Satter, senior assistant Illinois attorney general for public utilities said "It's devastating to their plan......The report shows zero statistically different result compared to business as usual."
[99] A report from a parliamentary group in the UK suggests people who have smart meters installed are expected to save an average of £11 annually on their energy bills, much less than originally hoped.
"[103] In 2013, Take Back Your Power, an independent Canadian documentary directed by Josh del Sol was released describing "dirty electricity" and the aforementioned issues with smart meters.
It features narration from the mayor of Peterborough, Ontario, Daryl Bennett, as well as American researcher De-Kun Li, journalist Blake Levitt,[105] and Dr. Sam Milham.
In a 2011 submission to the Public Accounts Committee, Ross Anderson wrote that Ofgem was "making all the classic mistakes which have been known for years to lead to public-sector IT project failures" and that the "most critical part of the project—how smart meters will talk to domestic appliances to facilitate demand response—is essentially ignored.
[107] Ross Anderson of the Foundation for Information Policy Research has criticised the UK's program on the grounds that it is unlikely to lower energy consumption, is rushed and expensive, and does not promote metering competition.
[109] In March 2018 the National Audit Office (NAO), which watches over public spending, opened an investigation into the smart meter program, which had cost £11bn by then, paid for by electricity users through higher bills.
They say that the first three cost-benefit analyses of residential smart meters found that it would cost more than it would save, but "ministers kept on trying until they got a positive result... To achieve 'profitability' the previous government stretched the assumptions shamelessly".
[114] A counter-fraud officer at Ofgem with oversight of the roll-out of the smart meter program who raised concerns with his manager about many millions of pounds being misspent was threatened in 2018 with imprisonment under section 105 of the Utilities Act 2000, prohibiting disclosure of some information relevant to the energy sector, with the intention of protecting national security.
