The short intervals between charging your electric car alert
the insurance company that you might be a speeder. That 2
a.m. batch of microwave popcorn outs you to pharmaceutical
companies looking to peddle their insomnia medications.
Some people fear utilities or anyone with access to their
data are using new smart electricity meters to peer into
your home and create a usage profile that can be sold.
DTE Energy and other utilities say privacy concerns are
overblown and that they like the cost savings that come with
automated billing because smart meters can transmit usage
remotely over radio waves.
They say customers who don't want their
smart meters turned on -- or opt out under a state rule
-- should cover the cost of human meter reading, an initial
$87 fee, plus $15 a month.
DTE submitted the proposal Tuesday to the Michigan Public
Service Commission, which regulates utilities and sets rates
and fees. DTE was the first major utility in the state to
submit its plan for handling these ratepayers.
The news elicited strong reaction on either side of the
issue from those commenting on Freep.com and the Free Press
Facebook page, most disagreeing that the utility should
charge to opt out. However, others commented that opting out
creates extra expense and that those customers should pay.
DTE has installed 825,000 smart meters on customers' homes
so far, mostly in Oakland County, spokesman Scott Simons
said Wednesday. The plan is to have 1.2 million in place by
the end of 2013; next up are Washtenaw and Monroe counties.
The company launched a smart meter pilot program in 2008,
but ramped up installation in 2009 after getting a grant
from the U.S. Department of Energy, according to Simons.
Among those who do not like smart meters is David Lonier,
73, of Auburn Hills, who has installed a lock to keep his
old meter attached to his house, put up a sign reminding DTE
workers not to replace the meter and also threatened to sue
the utility over the matter.
"They invade our privacy. They can monitor use, what's being
used in your home, a whole bunch of Fourth Amendment privacy
violations. The data can be sold for marketing," said the
retired remodeler, who also is worried about radiation some
say smart meters give off. "They'll know more about your
private life than you wish to disclose. You're not asked if
you want to disclose it. They simply take it from you. You
have no option."
State Attorney General Bill Schuette joined the conversation
in the spring, when he told the commission in a letter that
customers should be able to opt out at a reasonable price.
Kevin Doran, a research professor of energy policy at the
University of Colorado-Boulder, dismissed the safety
concerns, but understands why certain people see the Big
Brother implications of utilities' collecting such detailed
user information.
"If I give all the smart grid data to a utility, from a
consumers' perspective, you'd be potentially worried that if
the utility's profits are down (they'll say,) 'Let's
(collect) the data and sell it to a third-party data
provider,' " he said. "You can really start putting together
a digital doppelgänger of somebody."
According to a December 2010 AT&T-sponsored study by
Traverse City's Ponemon Institute, which conducts privacy
and security research, 39% of respondents believe smart
meters working in conjunction with a smart grid will
decrease their privacy, compared with 24% who are unsure and
37% who think it will have no impact or a positive impact.
Jackson-based Consumers Energy plans to start installing
smart meters for its customers during the third week in
September, aiming for 53,000 in Muskegon County by the end
of this year and 500,000 by the end of 2014, spokesman Roger
Morgenstern said.
The utility plans to submit its pledged opt-out plan to the
commission later this year and to date, has received 125
opt-out requests out of 1.8 million customers.
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