Publication details
Smart Grid and Surveilance
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2013 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | One of the modern trends in energy supply is smart metering. Smart metering facilitates the operation of the distribution network more efficient, so that the danger of black-outs and outages is reduced. In the same time, consumers may profit from personalized consumption of energy which can result in reduced household expenditure. On the other hand, personalization and individualization of consumption poses a risk to privacy. Energy providers receive complete information on household consumption, as well as a number of its members, their habits and devices that they possess. This information can be used not only to streamline the network, but also for purposes marketing and surveillance. Marketing includes personalized advertising, behavioural advertising of household members or direct marketing e.g. in the form of personal visits. Information about presence or absence of persons represents a threat for security of the individuals and property. Smart metering provides also an important tool for law enforcement bodies. Smart metering enables these bodies to monitor the behaviour of the individuals in real time. The law enforcement bodies may request for the data on the measurement from the providers. In March 2012 the European Commission issued a Recommendation on preparations for the roll-out of smart metering systems. However, this Recommendation is a soft-law instrument and, furthermore, does not cover specifically the use of the smart meters data by the law enforcement bodies. This paper deals with the privacy risks associated with smart metering and smart grids and sketches out main features of a regulation concerning the use of the data about energy consumption by the law enforcement bodies. |