Experts Question Whether It’s Legal That Utilities Can Spy on Customers with “Smart” Meters

By B.N. Frank

Opposition to electric, gas, and water utility “Smart” Meters is worldwide. These meters are expensive, unnecessary, privacy invasive, and plagued with problems including outrageously high bills (see 1, 2, 3, 4), fires and explosions (see 1, 2, 3, 4).

“Smart” Meters are extremely profitable to utility companies though. Because they are 2-way wireless transmitting, utility companies may remotely turn off services and ration customer usage. The 2-way transmitting feature also allows them to collect minute-by-minute customer usage data 24/7 which they can analyze in order to market more products and services to customers as well as sell to 3^rd parties (see 1, 2).

Experts in Ireland are evaluating whether the round-the-clock data collection is legal surveillance or not.

From The Independent.ie:

Experts question legality of ESB smart meters that could let State ‘spy on us’

Around 250,000 homes have had their electricity meters replaced with smart meters and 2.4 million homes will have them by 2024

The Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) has asked the ESB to address concerns over the gathering of information by electricity smart meters.

Legal experts have complained there is no legal basis for the collection, storage or use of the data.

They say it could be used by gardaí or revenue and welfare inspectors to monitor people’s movements and activities.

Traditional analog utility meters lasted on average 40 years, whereas customer rates are often increased for “Smart” Meter installation AND their frequent replacement (see 1, 2, 3, 4).

The 2-way transmitting transmitting feature also creates high levels of harmful electromagnetic radiation (see 1, 2, 3, 4). This has led to numerous reports over many years about health issues in people and animals after “Smart” Meters have been installed (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10).

More reprehensible details about “Smart” Grids and Meters are exposed in free online documentary, Take Back Your Power.

Activist Post reports regularly about “Smart” Meters and other unsafe technology. For more information, visit our archives and the following websites: