Good standards for smart meters

Abstract

This paper examines what lessons can be learned from the rollout of smart meters in the Netherlands to improve the European smart meter standardization. This study is based on the case of the Dutch meter rollout which preparations started in 2005 but finally was delayed until 2011 by governmental concerns about privacy infringements. The focus of our study lies on how the public interests were represented in this case and how these were taken into account during the standardization process. From this case it becomes clear how technological and commercial interests dominated the process while public interests such as the production of renewable energy were ignored. Many privacy aspects that caused the delay in the Dutch case might be repeated on a European level as well, as these aspects are part of EU approach too. This situation can harm the progress in the smart meter rollout, as well as invoking public rejection of the smart meter, since public concerns are ignored in the architecture of the meter. In this paper we will show that these issues can be dealt with by applying existing EU principles of good governance. In particular these principles are intended to ensure a proportional balancing of interests between stakeholders.Index Terms-Consumer protection, law, privacy, societal implications of technology, standards development, standardization, smart meter. R. A. Hoenkamp is with the

Adaptive STM32F4 Microcontrollers - Case of Flexible Smart Meters

“…A smart meter is a counter that automatically registers and communicates data on electricity consumption, it is divided into two main categories: traditional meters (the old electromechanical meters) measure only the total electricity consumption and Smart meters measure the amount of electricity consumed and the time of consumption, they automatically transmit data to providers by using a wireless communication technology (Ahmad, 2011) (Hoenkamp and Huitema, 2012). The price of electricity with these data may vary during the day, giving houses a new way to manage the costs of their consumptions.…”

“Trust” and “confidence” as socio-technical problems in the transformation of energy systems

“…Comparable "emergent effects" of cumulative, collective behavior have been observed in other sectors, such as the rejection of E10 biofuel in Germany, 12 sudden investment withdrawals in the financial sector [65], and periodic, or even constant, distrust in the food sector, as with Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia Coli bacteria (EHEC) in Europe [66] or milk powder in China. 13 …”

“…Commercial interests dominate, since the ESO relies on the expertise of commercial parties. Hoenkamp and Huitema claim that "These [standards] will be useless if the public rejects them" ( [12], p. 5).…”

“…If consumer behavior becomes a critical factor for system operation, then the risk of cumulated effects (like collective distrust against the new grid or parts of it) will rise. During the initial phases of transition in the Netherlands and California (USA), distrust was manifested by protest against the installation of smart meters [4,12]. 11 In 2011, the US Government Accountability Office [64] concluded in its report on Electricity Grid Modernization that "consumers are not adequately informed about the benefits, costs, and risks associated with smart grid systems."…”

“…-New technical devices which are "intelligent, self-healing, autonomous machines" [5][6][7], into whose operation the majority of the public has no insight [8] -Opaque markets in which rules of fairness cannot be enforced for certain, as it is unclear "who reaps the benefits, who bears the risks and burdens" [9] -The complex of public administration and governmental agencies, which supervise the development of smart infrastructures, and on which the public has to rely [10][11][12] The implementation of these changes will not be straightforward. In general, social scientists assume that the major obstacle for the implementation of a new technology is social acceptance.…”