By Michael Maharrey

I get more emails about smart meters than any other issue we cover. Pretty much on a weekly basis, somebody asks me how they can opt out of installing these devices in their homes or businesses.

Smart meters monitor home energy usage in minute detail in real time. The devices transmit data to the utility company where it gets stored in databases. Anybody with access to the data can download it for analysts. Without specific criteria limiting access to the data, these devices create significant privacy issues. Smart meters can also be used to remotely limit power usage during peak hours.

These devices raise health, privacy and constitutional issues.

Smart meters emit RF radiation, similar to cell phones. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” Officials downplay the health risks, but some people believe long-term exposure to smart meter radiation could cause health problems.

The Tenth Amendment Center got into the smart meter issue because of the overwhelming privacy issues and the fact that the federal government unconstitutionally serves as a significant funding source for smart meter programs.

Privacy Concerns

The proliferation of smart meters creates significant privacy concerns. The data collected can tell anybody who holds it a great deal about what goes on inside a home. It can reveal when residents are at home, asleep or on vacation. It can also pinpoint “unusual” energy use, and could someday serve to help enforce “energy usage” regulations. The ACLU summarized the privacy issues surrounding smart meters in a recent report.

“The temptation to use the information that will be collected from customers for something other than managing electrical loads will be strong – as it has been for cell phone tracking data and GPS information. Police may want to know your general comings and goings or whether you’re growing marijuana in your basement under grow lights. Advertisers will want the information to sell you a new washing machine to replace the energy hog you got as a wedding present 20 years ago. Information flowing in a smart grid will become more and more ‘granular’ as the system develops.”

The privacy issues aren’t merely theoretical. According to information obtained by the California ACLU, utility companies in the state have disclosed information gathered by smart meters on thousands of customers. San Diego Gas and Electric alone disclosed data on more than 4,000 customers. The vast majority of disclosures were in response to subpoenas by government agencies “often in drug enforcement cases or efforts to find specific individuals,” according to SFGate.

“Mark Toney, executive director of the Utility Reform Network watchdog group, said the sheer number of data disclosures made by SDG&E raised the possibility that government agencies wanted to sift through large amounts of data looking for patterns, rather than conducting targeted investigations.”

No Smart Meter, No Data

So, how can we stop government agencies from using smart meters to peer into our lives? We can simply refuse to install them on our property. This is the only sure-fire way to ensure your energy use data won’t fall into the hands of government agents and private marketers, or end up stored in some kind of government database.

Of course, utility companies want you to have a smart meter. These devices allow them to control your energy usage. Utilities want this power because it saves them money and allows them to more easily manage their power grids. As a result, many companies penalize customers who opt out of smart meter programs, and some go a step further and simply require them as a condition of service.