Smart meters have security holes

[mikepdx]

Smart meters used to deliver electricity more efficiently have flaws
that could let hackers tamper with the power grid, according to a new report.

According to security firm InGuardians, a thief could tamper with the system by simply
stealing a smart meter — which can be found outside a home — and reprogramming it.

Report: Smart meters have security holes that could allow hackers access to grid - SmartPlanet

 

[Dude111]

Yup they are NO GOOD!!!!

I hope people will STAND UP and not let these pieces of crapola infect on privacy,etc!!

 

[joescanner]

makes me feel so good that Portland General Electric is upgrading my neighborhood with these this week...

 

[mikepdx]

Yup they are NO GOOD!!!!

I hope people will STAND UP and not let these pieces of crapola infect on privacy,etc!!

Two choices:

1. Cancel electric service. Live a 19th century life.

2. Cover meter completely with a LARGE piece of aluminum foil - ground it well.
downside: Expect a visit to investigate why their controller shows lost communication.

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A whole lot of meter readers will be added to the already long unemployment lines.

I think the privacy issues are on the horizon.
In the meantime, the first step will be to charge you more during peak demand.
They will now know your usage minute by minute, where they didn't before.

I can think of only one plus.
There will never again be a need to call repair for an outage.
They will immediately know exactly how many homes are out and exactly where.

 

[N_Jay]

I can think of only one plus.
There will never again be a need to call repair for an outage.
They will immediately know exactly how many homes are out and exactly where.

And you will pay less, since the cost of meter reading is covered by the consumer.
And you will pay less, since the cost of excess capacity needed for peak loads is covered by the consumer.
And you will have less brownouts due to better demand side management.

(Less meaning less that it would have been otherwise, not necessarily less than today)

 

[Dude111]

Heres a Texas woman ON FIRE about keeping her utility company from forcing her to install one of these things in her house!!

www.devvy.com/new_site/smart-meter-081511.html

GOOD,the more who stand up and not just sit back being puppets,THE BETTER!!

 

[Thayne]

That lady has too much time on her hands, let her burn up if possible

 

[com501]

For all you nice radio folks who have taken painstaking efforts to make your house and surroundings 'radio quiet', how do you feel about a transmitter on your property you have no control over, or worse yet one that is emitting RF junk on your power circuits, aka BPL??

 

[UPMan]

I believe that smart meters use Zigbee, not BPL. 915 MHz signal.

People who worry about technology causing unemployment don't understand the relationship between technology and employment. Imagine if we still required manual switchboard operators at every exchange...an entire job class that was eliminated due to technological advances. How much would your phone bill be? And, how long would it take to complete a long-distance call? http://www.massivelyuninformed.me/?p=282

 

[datainmotion]

ZigBee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And just to add - "intelligent" meters with two-way comm capability are not new.
Itron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (they've been building these since the early 90s I believe)

 

[com501]

I don't give a rat's *** how long they have been around, the are just now getting to rural Nevada.

#1) Zigbee, Figbee, cellular, wifi, I don't care how the damn thing emits RF, if will be emitting RF in my painstakingly acquired quiet zone, and I won't have any control over it.

#2) BPL? Worse yet.

#3) This will NOT lower power costs to the consumer. We went through this for decades in Kalifornia when I lived there. The utility would come out with great energy savings campaigns, everyone would reduce their bills through conservation, improved insulation or new appliances. Two years later they are at the PUC screaming that revenues are down, and the PUC has to grant them a rate increase so their operating profit margin remains the same. The PUC always does, and the utility always does.

I PAY my power bill. Whatever I use per month I pay for. I don't need some nameless bureaucrat deciding that I don't need air conditioning today, or that I need to take my showers between 10pm and 2am. This intrusion into a person's private life is annoying and disrespectful. Just give me my damn power, charge me for it at a fair market rate, and be done with it. Don't try to market new technology to me, I don't need to start my oven from my smart phone when I am at work.

Oh, and we still need to consider that the utility is saving a crap load of money by firing a ton of employees. Will that cost be passed on to the consumer in reduced rates? Not hardly. Here, in Nevada, the utility is saying they will buy new vehicles and office furniture and new computers.