Burglars and marketing companies could exploit data from “smart meters” that monitor household energy use, the Privacy Commissioner says.<\/p>\n
Timothy Pilgrim, the nation’s privacy regulator, said yesterday the new meters could be used to build profiles on people’s habits — including the times they are home, whether their house has an alarm system, which appliances they use and when they watch television.<\/p>\n
He called for privacy laws to be extended to protect entire households, not just the individual customers who sign power contracts.<\/p>\n
“Smart infrastructure will generate information about the behaviors of individuals, often in the home,” Mr Pilgrim told The Australian. “The risk with a rich, new data source is the potential for information to be used for more than originally intended.<\/p>\n
“So it could mean collecting data about a person’s electricity usage for billing purposes and then selling data to appliance vendors or other businesses.”<\/p>\n
Smart meters are remote digital devices which send real-time meter readings to power utilities every half-hour.<\/p>\n
They will be installed in 2.5 million Victorian households by the end of 2013 and are being trialled in other states and territories.<\/p>\n
Utilities plan to use the smart meters to tailor bills, charging more for electricity used at peak times of demand during the day, and less at nights and weekends.<\/p>\n
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