Smart Meters and Privacy Tracking

The smart meter database for each electricity company must keep the names addresses for billing purposes. This is a separate arm of averaging.

The technology is advancing rapidly. For billing purposes they need a database of individual names and addresses. Their policy says it will not be sold to third parties. The government is behind the eight-ball. See Amazon and Venture electricity in Queensland (?).

AGREE! I do not think there will ever be a fool-proof protection of any type of data.

1 Like

That existed even in the days of spinning disc meters and the bloke with the dust coat and clipboard who came to read your meter. Nothing new to see here.

(Also a ruse and excuse when your house was burgled during the day and the neighbours thought they say the meter reader?)

Concerns for personal privacy and security are not new.

What is new with digital meters is the playing field of investments in digital meter equipment and services. Your retailer may not own your meter. The local supply authority may not own your meter. Someone else might and provide the remote reading data collection?

1 Like

yet another example of why restricting Access to Australian Standards is not good for the consumer.

3 Likes

Macquarie Group own my meter. Not me, not the electricity supplier (Energex), not the retailer (AGL), not the organisation (Plus S) nor its parent company (Ausgrid) that was sub-contracted by the retailer to install the meter, not the organisation that was sub-sub-contracted by the subcontractor to install the meter.

5 Likes

Ditto.

The guy who came to install ours explained it all. He was employed as an independent contractor to install the meter by … :wink:

Note:
We only need to look at the AEMO generation dispatch pricing for each state, average price and average peak price to … ?

Generation over the previous fortnight averaged RRP of close to 3c per kWh and peak RRP 4-5c per kWh. It takes a lot of creative servicing to bring that up to the 20-25c per kWh retail on top of the $1+ daily connection charge.

5 Likes

So is the difference per kWh income/profit for the provider?

2 Likes

Uh… no, absolutely not. It is service costs, as the provider needs to update its infrastructure to manage that incoming electricity and properly schedule electricity demand and supply.

/s (sarcasm for any not aware of the shorthand :wink:)

4 Likes

Its not as simple as equating wholesale $$ to retail $$ per kWh. (we pay after we’ve used the electricity, wholesale is more speculative in advance and on demand combo)

Wholesale spot price can get up to a capped amount of $14,500 per MWh. (it can also go -ve)

Think of it like your household was not connected to water grid and ran of local RW tank supply.
If you properly predict what you’ll use over summer and can stock up in winter you don’t have to buy a very pricey water tanker to come in an fill up (if you buy more than you use during remainder of summer then you have also wasted $$ come winter when your tank overflows etc etc)

1 Like

It is actually possible to determine what many of the loads are from the metering, I can certainly identify what the load is from my data logging of my off-grid system. I do have inside knowledge though :wink:

However, AGL (or their load ID’ing computer) may just be hopeless at doing it, and can’t know every device that each consumer has. To have any chance of being accurate, it would need to be sampling quite frequently, seconds, not minutes.

2 Likes

AGL’s web site suggests that the ‘Energy Insights Report’ is an option Smart Meter customers can take up when they choose e-billing.

I have a vague recollection of being offered the same by AGL some time back and chose not to. The service relies on customers creating a profile that reflects their household appliances. The assumption is that weighted averages are used to guess what is happening in the household. Aside from sharing those details with AGL, it would seem to offer little benefit to the average consumer. This answer from AGL offers some genuine insight? (Note: select the image to view an enlarged version, if it is too fine to read.)

Black and White the Smart Meter is not that smart after all.
At least in it’s current form. Into the future who knows?

1 Like

The difference gets shared by the many stakeholders between the ‘big plug’ at the power station and our household meter box. There are several other Choice Community Topics that discuss the retail price of power and various profit centres. It’s a well trod path with so many concerns. Enjoy the read.

Of note in my opinion.
The retailers who also own some of the generation have been accused of gaming the system. Gold plated networks are a factor as are competition policy settings from way back in the days of Little John. The base cost of generation has not been the biggest driver of cost increases. It’s also of note that household consumers only consumer a minor portion of our electricity generation. Although we do contribute significantly to the uneven demand and peak demand. Something a Smart Meter can measure, and reward or penalise users for between 6-9am each morning and 5-8pm each evening. No need to tell me that’s not how we are billed or the alignments of typical off peak offers?

It may be of most benefit to the community if we choose from the above for any replies and more detailed discussion of the cost at the meter box.

2 Likes

True, but it is not so complicated that it’s not profitable. If anything has changed, it’s opportune to continue by adding to one of the topics already open on electric power pricing.

1 Like

This is a concern, however, a much larger plan by our government has just been unveiled. I was reading this from ‘The Conversation’ and accessed the proposed legislation and read some of the submissions it is practically a done deal with very few voices in dissension.
" The federal government has [announced a plan] (Draft legislation proposed by Federal Government would allow your personal data to be shared between government agencies - ABC News) to increase the sharing of citizen data across the public sector.
This would include data sitting with agencies such as Centrelink, the Australian Tax Office, the Department of Home Affairs, the Bureau of Statistics and potentially other external “accredited” parties such as universities and businesses.
The draft Data Availability and Transparency Bill (https://www.datacommissioner.gov.au/data-sharing/legislation) released today will not fix ongoing problems in public administration. It won’t solve many problems in public health. It is a worrying shift to a post-privacy society.
It’s a matter of arrogance, rather than effectiveness. It highlights deficiencies in Australian law that need fixing.

5 Likes

Great discussion point.

There’s often a number of similar options when choosing which topic to post to.
The existing topics that may best suit can be found using the search icon in the header bar of each topic highlighted in red.

In this example the current topic is further down the list, and not visible. It’s also specific to concerns arising from security and use of Smart Meter data. I’ve highlighted an alternate topic that has similar discussion to the proposals for government departments exchanging data. Possibly a better option.

One of the team will assess this and likely move the most recent post to keep similar content in the most suitable thread.

5 Likes

At the early stage of implementing smart meters, I knew that all this would eventuate.

I don’t follow you. What has eventuated and how did you know it would?

1 Like

When I joined Stop Smart Meters some years ago, the tech-heads warned me of what was to feature in this energy sector. I watch documentaries on tech. advancements on SBS and ABC as well as Netflix. IT capabilities are advancing faster than any legislation can keep up with. I read a Choice article on household appliances will in the near future be ‘smart’. We already have helpful devices from Google and Amazon as well smart watches detecting our pulse, etc. Buyer beware!

What’s there to beware of?

As an electricity user the smart meter does not belong to the customer. As a matter of financial expediency the transition to meters that can be read remotely is being utilised to levy another cost on the consumer. In the near future the majority of meters will be upgraded to meet the industry needs. It’s not an option.

The evolution and increased uptake of Smart Devices in the home is a very different concern. Zero IMO to do with electricity meters. Are you suggesting we have more to beware of in that area from Google etc, and web connected services/providers than anything our electricity meter might one day morph into. The meter box Transformer remains a toy of childhood imagination?

2 Likes