NC Media Watch

Oops, Google exits the smartmeter power monitoring business

Russ Steele

I have written about the SmartMeters and monitoring in previous blog posts.  It appears the only monitoring that people are really interested in is their monthly bills and they could care less about monitoring their power consumption every 15 minutes.

The Google blog has this PowerMeter announcement:

In the coming months, we’re going to retire two products that didn’t catch on the way we would have hoped, but did serve as influential models: Google Health (retiring January 1, 2012; data available for download through January 1, 2013) and Google PowerMeter (retiring September 16, 2011). Both were based on the idea that with more and better information, people can make smarter choices, whether in regard to managing personal health and wellness, or saving money and conserving energy at home. While they didn't scale as we had hoped, we believe they did highlight the importance of access to information in areas where it’s traditionally been difficult. More details here.

The real bottom line is discussed at C/Net News:

Google's departure is a "market correction," said OPower's Kavazovic who predicted that other companies with similar products or a direct-to-consumer strategies will struggle. Tech companies that work through utilities with an incentive to boost efficiency of their consumers have a better chance of succeeding, he said.

"It's unclear that consumers are willing to pay for energy monitoring products, and yet there are real costs in building and provisioning such products. Google found out that they would have to invest millions to make this work, and yet there was not clear ROI," he said.

Exit Question:  Were you a Google Power Monitor user?

More SmartMeter News: Privacy Issues ripping to the surface

Russ Steele

I have written about the dangers and contrived benefits of SmartMeters, but the worse is that they are being forced on us, resulting in loss of your personal freedom. Here is one example. To find all of my SmartMeter articles search on the SmartMeters Category.

Anthony Watts writes about the issue at Watts Up With That in The SmartMeter backfiring privacy issue.

The promise was to help you control your electricity bill by becoming more aware of your energy use. The downside is that with the data gathered, other people and businesses can also become more aware of your habits, like when you go to work, go on vacation, etc. Is the potential energy savings worth the invasion of privacy trade-off? I sure don’t think so. I really don’t want PG&E or anyone else for that matter knowing how I live my life inside my own home.

Anthony links to an article from the Electronic Frontier Foundation on the privacy issues associated with the collection of SmartMeter data and how utility companies need to protect your privacy by restricting access to third parties. 

My Column on SmartMeters™ is up at CABPRO News

Russ Steele

Off the Top of My Head: SmartMeters™ -- Rational and not so rational fears
 
We live in a messy world of radio frequency energy, from the AM stations we get the morning news, FM stations that fill our day with music and news, the wireless telephones that save us many steps everyday answering the phone, and of course, our indispensable cellphones and smart phones. And then there are those radio signals we do not think about that much, the satellite signals that bring us hundreds of TV channels to the corner of our house and GPS navigation signals that guide us from point A to point B.
 
If we live near an airport the radar signals guiding airplanes to safe landings sweep by the house, and in our case, the Beale AFB Pave Paws Radar we can hear on our police scanners. Other radio signals we hear on our scanner are the police, fire, public service, and ham radio users.  Finally, let's not forget those WiFi signals that bring broadband to our laptops and Netflix movies to our Apple TV.
 
We already live in a messy radio frequency world, so why are people complaining about those tiny radio signals coming from the PG&E SmartMeters™?  Why are these specific radio signals causing so much irrational concern among the folks in Marin County? These signals are only a very small addition to the total RF spectrum that surrounds us, unless we live in a metal faraday cage designed to keep out radio signals?

Read the rest of my column here.

SmartMeter security is a growing concern!

Russ Steele

I wrote about the SmartMeter security issues in the August 2010 CABPRO News here.   Now a new report from the Government Accountability Office warns that smart-grid systems are being deployed without built-in security features.

According to a report in CNET:

Certain smart meters have not been designed with a strong security architecture and lack important security features like event logging and forensics capabilities used to detect and analyze cyberattacks, while smart-grid home area networks that manage electricity usage of appliances also lack adequate built-in security, according to the report (PDF) released last week by the GAO, the auditing and investigative arm of the U.S. Congress.

"Without securely designed smart-grid systems, utilities will be at risk of not having the capacity to detect and analyze attacks, which increases the risk that attacks will succeed and utilities will be unable to prevent them from recurring," said the report.

The report also took aim at the self-regulatory nature of the industry, saying utilities are focusing on complying with minimum regulatory requirements rather than having adequate security to prevent cyberattacks.

More from CNET News here.  I am working on another SmartMeter article for the CABPRO News. Stay tuned.

SmartMeter Update: Controlling the power vampires in your house

Russ Steele

Anthony Watts has a great post this morning at Watts Up With That on controlling the those power sucking wall warts that we have plugged in to the outlets through out the house.

SmartMeter users will want read the section on how SmartMeters got such a bad rap, a rate change just prior to the summer season in conjunction with the meter swap out. Bad PR for PG&E and SmartMeters.

SmartMeter Answer Center coming to Grass Valley
Pacific Gas and Energy's controversial new SmartMeter program has raised some questions. From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tuesday and 12- 5 p.m. Wednesday, PG&E representatives hope to answer some questions consumers may have about the new program. Representatives are expected to be on hand to answer customer questions about SmartMeters at PG&E's local office on 127 E. Main St. in Grass Valley.
To learn more about SmartMeters, check out page B1 of today's print edition of The Union.

PG&E SmartMeters are OK according to CPUC

Russ Steele

Below is the full press release:

CPUC RECEIVES RESULTS OF INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OF PG&E SMART METERS

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 2, 2010 - The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today received the results of the independent evaluation of Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) Smart Meter deployment, focused on electric residential customers, which found that the meters and associated software and billing systems are consistent with industry standards and are performing accurately. However, the evaluation identified multiple factors that appeared to contribute to the escalation of Smart Meter-related high bill complaints, including PG&E's customer service practices.

On April 1, 2010, the CPUC contracted with The Structure Group to conduct an independent evaluation of PG&E's Smart Meters in response to concern expressed by consumers over high energy bills that occurred around the same time PG&E installed Smart Meters in the San Joaquin Valley area.
Structure independently tested more than 750 Smart Meters and 147 electromechanical meters. In laboratory testing, field meter testing, and end-to-end system testing, Structure determined that all of the tested Smart Meters and systems were working accurately and that customer billing matched the expected results.

Structure also reviewed 1,378 electric Smart Meter complaints and performed in-depth customer interviews; they found issues with PG&E customer service management and adherence to industry best practices. For example, customer questions regarding Smart Meters and individual customer usage patterns were not effectively addressed by PG&E. In some cases, customers experienced multiple cancelled bills followed by re-billing, which exacerbated customer confusion and frustration. In addition, customers indicated to Structure that there was a lack of communication and notification from PG&E about their Smart Meter installation.

The report also said that the CPUC's handling of certain consumer complaints created confusion for the customer when the CPUC deemed the complaint closed even though the customer was still not satisfied with or did not understand PG&E's resolution of their complaint.

"I am happy to hear that PG&E's Smart Meters are functioning properly, but disturbed by PG&E's lack of customer service and responsiveness. We will ensure that PG&E improves their customer service, and we will also continue to improve our own complaint handling processes," said CPUC President Michael R. Peevey. "I hope these findings help ease minds about the accuracy of Smart Meters. Utilities nationwide are installing Smart Meters in order to give consumers greater control over their energy use, including shifting their usage to save money with optional time-based rates, provide for faster outage detection and restoration of service, and to help upgrade and modernize the electric grid."
Said Commissioner Dian M. Grueneich, "The report is encouraging in terms of the performance of actual meter hardware. However, I am very concerned about PG&E's performance in terms of industry best practices and how in some of the best practices areas, PG&E's performance has actually declined."

"The Structure report makes clear that the transition to a Smart Grid is not just a technological event," said Commissioner Nancy E. Ryan. "Consumers won't fully realize the many potential benefits of Smart Meters and other grid upgrades unless utilities and regulators place more emphasis on the human side of the equation," she added. "Better communication and customer service will help ensure that consumers see Smart Meters as something that is done for them, not to them."

Now if you beleive that these SmartMeters are really for your benefit, you have not been reading my earliers posts.  Use the search functions above and type in SmartMeters for the details.

Smart grid update: GE appliances will talk to your SmartMeter

Russ Steele

I was reading the Cover Story, Pushing for a Venture Capitol in the Congressional Quarterly’s Weekly magazine on government, commerce and politics, when this item popped off the page. GE relocated it’s water heater factory from China to Kentucky to take advantage of $25 Million in tax credits provided through the “advanced energy manufacturing” program enacted under the 2009 economic stimulus law.

“. . . GE’s relocation to Kentucky offers a perfect advertisement for the administrations ideas. It’s new water heaters incorporate “smart grid” technology that allows them to communicate with utilities and cut electricity during peak periods.”

The Kentucky plant will also produce more energy efficient washers and dryers. The article does not say they will be including smart chips in the washer and dryers, but GE did take the $25 million in “advanced energy manufacturing” money, which is code words for putting energy control devices in your appliances.  That same stimulus bill also funded PG&E's SmartMeters and the associated smart grid. 

If you are buying GE appliances, be aware that they may have smart grid chips that will allow PG&E to control your appliance use. Do you want some anonymous bureaucrat in a air conditioned building in Sacramento decide if you will have hot water for a shower after cutting your lawn on a hot summer afternoon?  Really?

Exit Question: What other companies are taking advantage stimulus money to install smart grid chips.

August Off the Top of My Head Column is up at the CABPRO Report

By Russ Steele

By now you should have your PG&E SmartMeter installed, or no later than the end of September.  Several people have asked me how secure are these SmartMeters when connected to PG&E’s smart-grid? Right now the SmartMeters are quite secure, as they are not connected to any network. The PG&E mesh network will not be installed locally for another six to eight months, according to the Tech that installed our SmartMeter.  

The answer to the security question depends on whom you ask. Silver Spring, the contractor installing the mesh network, has a white paper that discusses the network security. This paper declares the network is secure.


From the start, Silver Spring recognized that the smart grid might be the target of malicious activity, and understood the vulnerabilities presented by interconnecting devices. Consequently, the company has taken an architectural approach to security and embedded it throughout the hardware devices, the software operations, and the network-level transactions running across the smart grid infrastructure.

Yet, they understand that the system is not as secure as it might be and improvements will be required in the future.

Full column is at the CABPRO Report.

Hacking the Smart Grid

Russ Steele

Technology Review has the story here. My contribution to the issue is in the August issue of the CABPRO Report now available in racks in supporting business,  including B&C Hardware and the 76 Service Station. It will soon be posted to the CABPRO Report Blog.

According to Technology Review the technology could open up all kinds of opportunities for attackers.  This article supports my conclusion on the security of the SmartMeter Network. The security is weak and hackers could cause some real problems.

The hurried deployment of smart-grid technology could leave critical infrastructure and private homes vulnerable to hackers. Security experts at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas last week warned that smart-grid hardware and software lacks the necessary safeguards to protect against meddling.

Utilities are being encouraged to install this smart-grid technology--network-connected devices to help intelligently monitor and manage power usage--through funding from the U.S. government's 2009 stimulus package. The smart systems could save energy and automatically adjust usage within homes and businesses. Customers might, for example, agree to let a utility remotely turn off their air conditioners at times of peak use in exchange for a discount.

But to receive the stimulus money, utilities will have to install new devices across their entire customer base quickly. Security experts say that this could lead to problems down the road--as-yet-unknown vulnerabilities in hardware and software could open up new ways for attackers to manipulate equipment and take control of the energy supply.

Stay Tuned. More on the security issue to come.

Follow the money: PG&E will not support Prop 23.

Russ Steele

The Sac Bee has the story:  PG&E says it opposes initiative that would block state's greenhouse gas emissions law.

Utility giant PG&E Corp. today came out against the ballot initiative to suspend California's greenhouse gas emissions law, joining the ranks of California businesses opposing efforts to roll back the landmark legislation.

The state's largest for-profit utility said that it supports a "thoughtful and balanced" implementation of AB 32 to combat the problem of global climate change and spur growth in clean-tech jobs and investments.

Read the rest of the story here

PG&E does not have to worry!   The cost of implementing AB32 are going to be passed on to you,  the customer. 

On the other hand, being cooperative with regulatory agencies, such as the CPUC with regulates PG&E,  and CARB which approves their environmental impact statements for all those state demanded solar and wind farms, sets up a nice cozy relationship. A relationship that ends up with PG&E customers holding the bag.

PG&E is still deciding if they will provide funds to defeat the initiative. How do you feel about paying the bill for PG&E if they decide to provide economic support to organizations committed to defeating Prop 23? Yea, me too. 

As a customer you need to let PG&E know how you feel about their support for a campaign to defeat Prop 23. It is your money and house hold budget at stake. Here is a link to the PG&E Contact Page. Give them a piece of your mind -- NOW!