As a follow-up to my previous post, I wanted to add a few thoughts about creeping nannyism.

Privacy experts are concerned that new smart grid technology, meant to give consumers greater control over their energy usage, might be used to reveal more about your life than you’d intend.  Turns out that, even if individual electronic devices don’t have communications capabilities, their unique load patterns can be picked up on usage reports.  Refrigerators, toasters, gaming consoles, etc, all generate unique patterns that can be detected on meters.  It would be possible for the curious to know when you’re home, how long you use a hair dryer in the morning, and whether you should spend less time on the xBox.  And, if your devices have roaming capabilities (electric vehicles, for example), more patterns can be created and detected.

Privacy experts are concerned that utility companies may share this information with third-party marketing firms, and you could inundated with junk solicitations as a result.

I, however, am far more concerned about the political use of this information.

Now, I don’t think there’s a secret cabal of bureaucrats twirling their waxed mustaches, eagerly waiting for the day they will control our lives.  But I do know the government has a history of using what are supposed to be limited precedents in ever expanding ways.  RICO was designed to pursue organized crime.  Since its creation in the 1970’s, it has been used against tobacco companies, the Catholic Church, pro-life organizations, and Major League Baseball.  Whatever you might think of MLB, I don’t think it falls in the same category as the Gambino crime family.

Here’s a hypothetical:  The government currently requires financial institutions to create Suspicious Activity Reports whenever they suspect financial shenanigans.  Utility companies have a history of turning over usage information to local law enforcement to find domestic grow operations.  How long before someone at the DEA decides that a combination of smart grid technology and SAR-style account surveillance would be a great way to find drug houses?  Law enforcement has already tried to use thermal imaging equipment to surveil drug-suspects without a warrant (this was, thankfully, declared unconstitutional).  But if SAR’s are legal, then why must they be restricted to financial institutions?  An unusual usage pattern trips a report, and then a SWAT team shows up at your house (they’ve shown up for less).

Unlikely?  If someone can install a smart meter in his home, and he can tell that his hallway lights are on by looking at a report, what do you think a trained data-miner (or a complex algorithm) can come up with, especially when your energy usage is compared to everyone around you, or to your own established consumption history?

And if I’m supposed to be paranoid about the thought that the government might be listening in on my cell phone conversations or monitoring my library book selections, why aren’t you concerned that the government wants to control and monitor your electricity usage?

Plus, meddlesome busybodies have a habit of finding new and exciting ways to pester people.  If soda taxes are a great idea, what about taxing the use of gaming consoles?  We should feel guilty about using hot water, so why not an extra tax on that?  The Big Brother aspects strain the imagination.

When I was in college, I had an issue with my ID card, and I was sent a report showing my card use for a month.  Every building I entered, every meal I ate, every vending machine I used — all of that information was right there, complete with a time and date stamp.  I was a little creeped out.

Now, imagine the government getting a usage detail report showing everything you do that requires electricity.  That’s creepy.

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