Smart Grids and Privacy Issues

Introduction to the Section below

     With all of the news about the PRISM government database collecting personal information, and NSA’s gross invasion of privacy, I am reminded of something I wrote in my book on Power Grids.

     In the chapter on Smart Grids, I discuss the issue of Privacy and Smart Grids. Several times I mention that “…this might sound Orwellian, yet I know this to be true.”

     Given what we now know about the NSA performing invasion of privacy through electronic systems, what I wrote in the book will seem much less fanciful.  (And yet it is another area regarding our personal liberties which we need to be vigilant about).

      Below are a few sections from the book “Utilities and Grid Systems Explained Simply” which pertain to the Smart Grid and Privacy Issues.

Privacy Issues and the Smart Grid

Introduction

There is a real concern over privacy in the use of Smart Grids. There are two categories of privacy concerns: 1) sensors which monitor personal use of electrical power, and 2) automatic adjustments which can disconnect power from an individual’s home or from specific appliances.

Sensors as Invasion of Privacy

The purpose of the remote sensor in the Smart Grid system is to measure the use of electrical power at a particular location, then send that information to the central computer. Operators at the control room desire this information to see trends of power use. After being given that information, the operators (and more often the computers) will make adjustments in either the amount of power produced, or the directions which existing power should be sent.

This is the overall benevolently intended use of sensors by well-meaning people. However, the placement of those sensors can intrude on personal privacy.

Sensors can be placed anywhere, including power plants, substations, and transformers. Sensors can be placed along sections of power lines and underground cables. These are generally benign and legitimate placements of sensors.

However, sensors can also be placed outside or inside any business, including within manufacturing equipment. Sensors can be placed in the home, not only outside the home at the meter but inside the home along branches of wiring and within specific appliances. Furthermore, most of these sensors are being installed without citizens being aware (or being allowed to express their opinions).

This may sound fictitious and Orwellian; however I have been involved with enough discussions with well-meaning engineers and policy makers to know that this is true. Furthermore, these well-meaning policy makers continue to push for sensors in more personal use locations.

Therefore, at what point does the sensor intrude on personal space and individual privacy?

Automatic Adjustments

      The purpose of automatic adjustments in the Smart Grid system is to make adjustments anywhere along the transmission path, in order to provide power to the users who need it most. Automatic adjustments can include almost anything, as stated in the list above.

       Most automatic adjustments are related to opening up transmission paths or changing transmission paths. Many other automatic adjustments are related to acquiring more power from a particular power plant or specific region of the grid.

       However, some of those automatic adjustments include disconnecting power from individual users. Power can be disconnected remotely from any home or business. Power can be disconnected remotely from any equipment or appliance.

Although this may sound fictitious and Orwellian, there are many policy-makers who believe in the central planning approach to the grid. This includes disconnecting any power to particular users who “use too much power”.

Technologies already exist which allow a central control room to remotely disconnect power from buildings or appliances. These technologies are often installed, either by user choice or in a stealth manner, in many residential and commercial areas. This may be acceptable as a “smart home” where the home owner has complete control over operations (such as starting his dishwasher from a cell phone). However, it is not acceptable for grid managers to take control over those remote adjustment technologies.

Again the question is at what point does the automatic adjustment infringe on personal choice?

Invasion of Privacy through Stealth and Legislation

Grid managers install sensors, install remote adjustment technologies, and acquire control of individual’s use of power either through stealth or through regulations.

The stealth mode is generally done by the utility company by coming in and installing the technologies without anyone knowing. If asked, they respond “you voluntary signed up for our service, and therefore you implicitly consented to all of our operations”.

The regulation approach involves the grid managers working with the appropriate government agency to develop regulations which mandate that remote sensors and remote adjustment technologies be designed into next generation appliances. This allows the Smart Grid managers to control every individual’s use and every business owner’s use of electrical power.

This is not fictitious. It is a reality that is growing, without the knowledge of most citizens. Elements such as these in the Smart Grid system may be ethically and legally questionable.

Note that the specific details of the engineering and the regulations vary so much from region to region that the citizens of each community must evaluate the situation for themselves.

This article is an excerpt from my book “Utilities Operations and Grid Systems Explained Simply”. You can find the full book here.