Smart Meters - Surveillance of Your Home

According to the Seattle Times (May 13, 2018): Utility regulators are pushing utilities to adopt automated meter technology. But the American Civil Liberties Union and others warn it potentially threatens privacy and could pose health risks because of the radio signals used to transmit the information.

In 2017, the ACLU of Washington urged the Seattle City Council to consider requiring privacy protections before allowing the devices to be installed.

The meters, the ACLU argued, collect data in such ways that can reveal whether someone is home, and to some extent what they are doing in their home based on energy usage. And that data can be sold for marketing purposes, the ACLU and others warned. "The potential surveillance capabilities ... make clear and binding guidelines essential," ACLU Technology and Liberty Project Director Shankar Narayan wrote to the Seattle council. "In considering what safeguards might be appropriate, the City Council must consider the outer envelope of this (or any other) technology’s capabilities and ensure third-party verification of those capabilities, rather than rely on the assurances of the very vendors that stand to benefit from potential sales of Seattleites’ data."

The ACLU stated in its letter: 

"We have consistently advocated for privacy protections and against government surveillance without appropriate checks and balances. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is a surveillance-capable infrastructure that is being rapidly implemented in Seattle with little public transparency as to its privacy impacts and how they will be mitigated; without appropriate regard for the principles of Seattle’s own Privacy Program; and without a meaningful opportunity for individuals to offer informed consent."

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation:

Smart meters also reveal intimate details about what’s going on inside the home. By collecting energy use data at high frequencies - typically every 5, 15, or 30 minutes - smart meters know exactly how much electricity is being used, and when. Patterns in your smart meter data can reveal when you are home, when you are sleeping, when you take a shower, and even whether you cook dinner on the stove or in the microwave. These are all private details about what’s going on inside your home...

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission says customers can choose not to have the advanced meters hooked up to their homes or businesses.