Privacy Concerns with Smart Grid

Author: Kelvin Chan, Industry Analyst, M2M and Smart Energy

Published: 22 Mar 2011

Since 2006, Pacific Gas and Electricity (PG&E) has installed more than seven million smart meters to facilitate bi-directional communication of real time data on customers’ electricity use. Now, PG&E’s campaign to introduce smart meters is facing strong opposition from residents in northern California, who claim that their liberties and health have been compromised by the installation. At first, the backlash focused on artificially high readings but that complaint subsided when studies confirmed the meters’ overall accuracy. Protests then veered onto issues about breaches of privacy and radio-frequency radiation, which is analogous to the electromagnetic emissions from cell phones or wireless devices. Are these claims legitimate?

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