Smart power meters.

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jasonwaiheke

274 posts

Ultimate Geek

#91942 24-Oct-2011 10:32

Hi,

i just got a letter from Genesis Energy, my power company, stating they would be installing a smart meter or 'advanced meter' at my house in the next month and a bit. this is all good, i mean i am al for new advances in technology and it's benefits. but does this smart meter installed by vector but instigated or introduced by them, favour them, i mean does all th benefits it offers only apply if i stay with them. what if i get a competitor offer that is better and i switch, can they access all the benifits of this meter or will it be back to the old meter reader reading the meter. in a google search many articles posting negativley were quite old and there is nothing more recent with either good or bad feedback.

Jason

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3335 posts

Uber Geek

#536871 24-Oct-2011 10:57

im with genesis and had a smart meter installed a year ago and it seems to work well, what i like about it is that it seems to be accurate and it rules out human error on the part of the meter reader but there are problems if you switch power companies

http://www.consumer.org.nz/news/view/smart-meter-incompatibility/500

Common sense is not as common as you think.

nickb800

2475 posts

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#536907 24-Oct-2011 12:36

It means that you can have monthly meter readings, which is nice.

Sometimes they can work between providers - I have a smartmeter from Meridian/Powershop which is now read remotely by Genesis

Something to be aware of though - some of the old meters started under-reading as they got older, so that when the meter is replaced, people get shocked as they receive a more accurate, and more expensive bill

jonherries

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#536921 24-Oct-2011 13:15

I have a smart meter put in by powershop (who are awesome). They read it everyday, which is great for me as I am reasonably interested in that sort of stuff.

Jon

codyc1515

1598 posts

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Inactive user

#536926 24-Oct-2011 13:23

There are privacy risks to understand from the analysis of your electricity use patterns. You must understand that the power readings are sent off far more often than once a month.

Shock

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#537048 24-Oct-2011 21:58

Glad we were finally upgraded to a Genesis smart meter last month. No more shockingly wild estimates (that they would do nothing about) even though we were a brand new property with no history.

Downside is that it is electricity only, gas meter was not part of the upgrade :/

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shrub

552 posts

Ultimate Geek

#537140 25-Oct-2011 08:47

codyc1515: There are privacy risks to understand from the analysis of your electricity use patterns. You must understand that the power readings are sent off far more often than once a month.

/paranoid much?

keewee01

1714 posts

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#537213 25-Oct-2011 10:50

We had our new Smart Meter installed last week (Genesis), so will be interesting to see how it goes.

codyc1515

1598 posts

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#537272 25-Oct-2011 12:50

shrub:
codyc1515: There are privacy risks to understand from the analysis of your electricity use patterns. You must understand that the power readings are sent off far more often than once a month.

/paranoid much?

Don't get me started.

John2010

532 posts

Ultimate Geek

#537352 25-Oct-2011 16:40

codyc1515:
shrub:
codyc1515: There are privacy risks to understand from the analysis of your electricity use patterns. You must understand that the power readings are sent off far more often than once a month.

/paranoid much?

Don't get me started.

It is not just the severe privacy issue you need to worry about codyc1515 with the smart meters it is the power they steal off you and which they then have the audacity to sell back to you again.

They send you electrons down the wires as power then take some of them back again everytime the meter sends a message to them and then the power company sells you those electrons back again. This probably accounts for many getting the smart meters complaining that their power usage goes up.

lchiu7

5356 posts

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#537355 25-Oct-2011 16:53

Smart meters are a complex issue. Just read this

Part 10 Review

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gregmcc

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#537358 25-Oct-2011 16:57

for you there is most likely no advantage or disadvantge.

But...... remember that the power company no longer has to pay anyone to come and read the meter, as such they make a cost saving there, will they pass this saving on to you....unlikely.

Also remember that you don't actually have to have the advanced meter installed, it is your choice as you own the meter box not them. If you don't want it installed, tell them so.

I went thru this with genesis a few months ago, they weren't prepared to pass on any cost saving they made my installing advanced metering so that been the case permission was denied for them to work in my meter board.

richms

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#537409 25-Oct-2011 19:53

There is a real issue with it, as anyone that has access to the data will know if you are home or not at any time so if they have dodgey mates they can let them know the address and when you are not home.

Was totally brushed off when I asked genesis what their policies about access to the data was, and I figure my high base usage here is enough to make looking for when someone is out from the hourly figures meaningless.

Richard rich.ms

John2010

532 posts

Ultimate Geek

#537488 25-Oct-2011 22:47

richms:
Was totally brushed off when I asked genesis what their policies about access to the data was...

Well that is what I would consider a good thing as disclosing their policy to any Tom, Dick or richms would compromise the data's security.

In case that not clear to you it is much easier for a felon to circumvent a security policy (no matter what it is protecting - data, art, gems, etc) if they know what the policy is. Kinda obvious I would have thought?

lchiu7

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#537492 25-Oct-2011 22:55

Read the Electricity Authority consultation paper on smart meters and advanced metering in general. It's only 57 pages(!) and discusses all those issues and more. It's not a straight forward issue and there is considerable debate within the industry on the appropriate rules and regulations on meters, data, security, privacy etc.

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richms

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#537494 25-Oct-2011 22:57

John2010:
richms:
Was totally brushed off when I asked genesis what their policies about access to the data was...

Well that is what I would consider a good thing as disclosing their policy to any Tom, Dick or richms would compromise the data's security.

In case that not clear to you it is much easier for a felon to circumvent a security policy (no matter what it is protecting - data, art, gems, etc) if they know what the policy is. Kinda obvious I would have thought?

How do you figure that? Its my data, I have no choice that it is collected and I want to know who has access to it and what they do to make sure that they are trustable. If its available to a call center staffed by ex inmates then I have a problem with it.

Richard rich.ms

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