Bonum Certa Men Certa

The 'Smart' Attack on Power Grid Neutrality (or the Wet Dream of Tiered Pricing for Power, Essentially Punishing Poorer Households for Exercising Freedom Like Richer Households)

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Nov 29, 2023

The dishonest marketing people tell us the age of disservice and discrimination is all about "smart" and "Hey Hi" (AI) as in algorithms akin to traffic-shaping in the context of network neutrality

Science Teacher

THE war is on. The war is not new. The war started well over a decade ago and it is intensifying in the face of defensive backlash if not rebellion. More people are learning firsthand what "Smart" is; in some cases, it means your thermostat in your own home is remotely controlled by some hostile company (GNU responded to this incident, making a strong point for software freedom). Is this the future? Whose future would that be?

Finland recently had a "taste" of the same thing, right after a power supplier had suffered a critical failure at a site. Finns were cold already, then they got a lot poorer (for doing something about it). Regarding that incident, see Daily Links of last week. Some aren't failures attributable to pipe accidents/vandalism but to IT incompetence. That's an issue for another day...

Today we focus on spymeters ("smart" meters).

The only thing I truly regret is that I've not kept good track or stock (e.g. a wiki page with links) of my many articles on this topic, resulting in much time wasted this morning just trying to track them down. I wrote about the primary issues with spymeters as a poem (or "smart" meters as they always call them here, even consistently and insistently too despite the misleading nature of the term). I wrote it over 2 years ago and I even talked about this way back in 2010 or 13.5 years ago. I again spoke about them in relation to the 'Appeal to Novelty' fallacy and a few more times with a detailed list of issues (I've lost track of it all because I covered the issue in several sites), aside from obvious and more widely-publicised - perhaps wrongly emphasised - security and privacy issues (and inability to go back to "traditional" meters). The energy suppliers keep giving false assurances or deadlines (for transition) and book you for fake appointments (to be "confirmed" by you), not to mention the endless spam, attempts to offer gifts (small bribes), and countless other issues. I feel like I'm constantly being harassed for not adopting these, no matter how much I ask for this torrent of spam/calls to stop, and maybe that's just the goal. They moreover resort to belittling remarks and smears (like "paranoia"), so you know they lack a really good argument and thus fall back onto stigma, name-calling, subtle demonisation tactics. Who's the troublemaker here? In some cases, or on some occasions (years), the providers were denying discounts or - in other words - having premiums (taxes) on not having the thing installed. We literally had to pay more money just not to have those things installed. So they profit from 'dissent' too. They might say they are "optimising" some "models" of the electric grids, but the net effect is negative, both when it comes to one's human rights, one's security, and one's cost of operation (those things don't run on air).

If we let this be, what will come next? Spymeters with microphones and cameras built in? Gyroscopes? Social control media integration?

Will that stop at power readings?

If we collectively or even individually surrender to this "agenda", as many people already do (it's easier to surrender than to resist), then they will do the same for water, e.g. if they are unable to supply clean water in particular quantities at some times (e.g. a certain time of the year or a certain year). Don't laugh, many countries already experience this! Who will be on top? The rich. They always get their way. The way things were 'traditionally' done, we all shared the same grids and pipes; only some meter inside your home kept track of how much you (compared to others) "consumed" and when; it was an unknown/enigma until a person came over to check. It was hard to divert everything towards "only" rich households. There was a sense of "consumption" anonymity, as least as a metaphorical concept.

Enter "smart". Imagine the future of water management in an age of overpopulation and climate change.

The implementation is not far fetched. It's already feasible, albeit with water they can adjust frequencies of visits/checks at times of draught, introducing tiered pricing for water at times of scarcity, then upselling/overcharging (ripping people off) just like on the Web/Net... or like having 'dynamic pricing' for passengers of planes (pricey flights)/trains/cars (see Uber scandals) based on how rich they are, perhaps based on some online profile (bought from a so-called "data broker").

The problem is a lot bigger than just power measurements, which can contribute to more profiling of house tenants (then selling their personal data, e.g. times indoors, home temperature, lots more).

Do you have no "spy" meter? Then no discrimination. Maybe they can discriminate based on who you are, but not based on when you use power and what for? All they have is "total" usage and a name. Here in the UK they measure usage only a few times a year, everything else is an estimate extrapolated or interpolated based on other readings.

The escalation tactics of theirs are rather telling; they phone me about this issue again and again for nearly a decade already, with an actual person rather than a bot on the line (and this costs them more than sending E-mails and envelopes with stamps).

Next time they phone I might say, "I know you go by a script, but let me explain to you what those meters are for" (surveillance meters that beget abuse of the clients - albeit that's not what they tell/brief the people on the line; they talk, they don't listen though; the script goes something like, "my mom also was apprehensive, but now she really likes these meters").

Surprisingly or not, this is akin to network neutrality, albeit in the energy, not in the packet, sense. The power resellers are like ISPs, but there's no datacentre/GAFAM, just upstream oil/coal giants. Dynamic pricing for power usage at different times of the day, or discouraging the use of power when it's cold, is a huge can of worms; the corporate/state media speaks of when many people get back from work or when it gets extremely cold...

There are better options! Options that do not enrich the cartel or oligopoly of suppliers and instead helps those most vulnerable.

A friend told me those new meters are very unsafe especially in the context of the "hybrid" warfare going on for the last decade or so against Europe. The grids aren't the only target/s but also people's homes, which now have in them an unpatched pile of e-waste they used to label "IoT" or "smart". In many homes this is the least secure link, i.e. potential edgepoint/endpoint through which to penetrate the whole home network (LAN), compromising everything.

Other Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft Market Share Falling to New Lows in Aruba
Being below 20% in America is the exception, not the norm
Streaming in a Few Minutes: Julian Assange Press Conference
They test the microphone now.
Debian Project Still Has a Lot of Explaining to Do...
Assange was actually a Debian Developer
Sheriff of Cork & Debian Edward Brocklesby or Brockelsby Street confusion
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
"Conviction for a Crime he Did Not Commit," Said Jennifer Robinson
Robinson is the kind of woman accomplisher we should look up to
An Extended Statement on Julian Assange
Assange's release was not important enough to "make the cut" for News, only "tweets" and other Social Control Media nonsense.
 
Links 26/06/2024: More on Hey Hi (AI) Bubble Fading, RIAA Steps in
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/06/2024: UAF Botanical Garden and YouTube Workarounds
Links for the day
[Video] Julian Assange Arrives Safely in Australia
even the person on the air cried
[Meme] When Ian (of Debian) Was Still Alive
I wasn't always a Debian Developer...
"Julian Assange is Free"
Published ~34 minutes ago
GNU/Linux Userbase Surging in Iceland
Maybe there's something big going on, like people deleting Vista 11 in droves and installing GNU/Linux instead
Jennifer Robinson: "After 14 years of legal battles, Julian Assange can go home a free man”
She explains the implications for the general freedom of the press
Judge: Assange Leaves Court 'A Free Man'
on his way to Australia now
Julian Assange verdict: guilty, not guilty or blackmailed
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
12 Months Ago the FSF Said It Would Issue a Statement on IBM Taking RHEL Proprietary
Statement never happened
Microsoft's Bing Fall From 2.6% Before LLM Hype to Just 0.79% Right Now in Russia
statCounter's data
[Meme] Speaking Truth to Power (Still Easier in the West Than in Russia/BRIC)
Different people, different outcomes
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 25, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 25, 2024
The Plot to Silence (or Deplatform) Techrights
This past month I've been spending time working on the text of an online publication
[Meme] Julian Assange's Lawyers Need to Ensure Assange Maintains Freedom to Publish
Let's ensure he can continue to publish
Trying to Make Blogs (Independent and Mostly Decentralised Platforms) What Comes After Social Control Media
Social Control Networks 'stole the thunder' of blogs, but can we get back to blogs?
Julian Assange Has Landed
There will probably be some press interviews some time this month or next month
L is for Linux and Lao
Lao should really have something called LaOS
[Meme] Need More Sites Like Wikileaks, Not Less
On US government vs Wikileaks
We Know Who Stands to Gain From the Demise of the Press
the Assange release was a win for his family, but likely a dire loss for press freedom
[Meme] Think Twice Before Exposing or 'Embarrassing' Powerful People and Interests
The United States government has basically won the Assange case
The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is Openwashing, Ben Cotton (Fedora) Acknowledges It, Fails to See How Bribes Led to That
As if... it "just happened"
Links 25/06/2024: RAM Stress, COVID Graft
Links for the day
Gemini Links 25/06/2024: Hey Hi Punditry and Right to Repair
Links for the day
Links 25/06/2024: Julian Assange Freed From Prison, "AI" Bubble Imploding Some More
Links for the day
Three Points About Julian Assange Plea Deal
There is still a secret problem
[Meme] EFF Became a 'Bunch of Pussies' Working for GAFAM (and Sponsored by GAFAM)
It won't protect people, except very rich people's interests
IBM Does Not Care for the Blind (Wayland Harms Accessibility)
What a punch in the gut
Who Is This Backup FOR, the NSA?
As Admfubar put it, "backups for everyone..."
Tux Machines Past 20: Still Thriving
Now 20 years and 2 weeks old
[Meme] Microsoft is Coming /Home
"LOL, REAL SORRY!!!"
Microsoft's Siege of Libya Coming to an End
One might be tempted to guess the users deleted Windows and installed something else
Gemini Links 25/06/2024: Old Computer Challenge; An Opinionated GNU/Linux Guide
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 24, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, June 24, 2024
IEEE Computer Society on Andrew Tanenbaum, Winner of ACM Award, Who Also Inspired Linux Development
10 years ago
New Talk by Dr. Richard Stallman Published Two Days Ago By CeSIUM - Centro de Estudantes de Engenharia Informática da Universidade do Minho (Portugal)
The FSF no longer mentions Richard Stallman's talks, but we will
FSF Looking to Raise Money by Adding 200 New Members by July 19
The FSF is in good shape, according to Alexandre Oliva
Not Only Does It Not Add Security... (UEFI as a 'Bug Door')
SecureCore?
Data From Monaco Should Alarm Microsoft
Just how many people are deleting Windows and installing something else this year?
Name the Threats and Threat Actors
Looking back to 2006, there was Novell and gregkh (partly salaried by Microsoft), so these are familiar territories
Linux in Central Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger)
Vast area, vast number of "Linux users" (if one counts Android as such)
[Meme] Gagging One's Own Staff as a Signal of Corporate Distress
Censorship at Microsoft
The "Other" SPLC
You know you're winning the debate when censorship is explored
Staying the Course
censorship isn't easy against sites that understand ways to resist it
The 'All-Seeing' Microsoft Eye
Microsofters are observing us closely
Links 24/06/2024: Long COVID and "How I Write Blogs"
Links for the day
Microsoft: By Default, Destroy Linux
Here is what the very "polite" Microsoft Boccassi had to say
Allegations That Microsoft is Covering Up Employee Dissatisfaction and Using a Survey to Catch 'Risk' to the Cult Mentality
This favours or gradually socially-engineers a company for sociopathy
'Linux Hint' Inactive for Nearly a Month (It Used to be Very Active)
Their Twitter account hasn't been active for a long time and it's not too clear what's going on
An Unexpected GNU/Linux Trend
Burkina Faso is changing and not just politically
Android (Linux) at New Highs in Burkina Faso, Now Measured at 72% (Windows Was Measured at 98% 15 Years Ago)
based on this month's estimates
With 0.76% for ChromeOS and 3.7% for GNU/Linux (4.5% Total) Burkina Faso Approaches 5% for 'Linux'
More if one counts Android as "Linux"
Gemini Links 24/06/2024: Being Dull and OpenSSH Autoban
Links for the day
EPO Issues in The Hague
a report dated 4 days ago about a meeting that took place 12 days ago
[Meme] Garbage in, Garbage Out (EPO Patent Quality)
"Get back to work"
When the Employer Makes You Too Sick to Go to Work (New EPO Document)
"registering when you are sick"
Perens on a Stick
Remember what Novell did and how few (barely anyone) sided with Novell
Andrew Tanenbaum Gets an Award for His Work on MINIX
ACM one week ago
Twitter's Fall to Irrelevancy in Europe
Musk bought a dud
[Meme] 'Useless' Kids of EPO Examiners
malnourished?
Granting Loads of Monopolies in Europe (to Foreign Corporations of Epic Size and Far Too Much Power Inside Europe) is Vastly More Important Than Raising European Kids Properly?
"Efficiency" first? Whose? Corporations or families? No wonder so many young families are hesitant to have any kids these days; that's particularly true in east Asia and also in north America, not just Europe
[Meme] Putin's Red Flags
Firefox ESR or Firefox USSR
The Corporate/Mainstream Media and Even Social Control Media is Distorting the Record About What Mozilla Actually Did (It Originally Surrendered to Vladimir Putin)
Mozilla being avoided for purely technical reasons (sites not being compatible with it) is one thing. Foolishly, Mozilla is giving people more political reasons to also shun Mozilla. This is suicide.
GNU/Linux Up Some More This Morning, Windows Down Sharply Even in Rich Countries
Microsoft is in trouble in the Muslim world
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Rising... Towards 5% for ChromeOS and GNU/Linux
the latest numbers show it growing from about 0.1% to around 2.4% for GNU/Linux, plus 2.01% for Chromebooks (ChromeOS), i.e. about 5% in total.
Techrights in the Coming Decade: The Free Speech (Online) Angle
Free speech is a fundamental tenet of a free society
Links 24/06/2024: New Research, New Attacks on Justices Sceptical of Patent Maximalists, European Commission for Copyright Maximalists
Links for the day
[Meme] 12 Years a Fedora Volunteer
IBM gives me a 'free' Fedora badge as recognition
IBM Slavery: Not a New Problem
When IBM got rid of Ben Cotton it showed the world how much it valued Fedora
Why They Want to Abolish Master/Slave Terminology (Because This is What They're Turned Free Software Into)
It used to be about community; GAFAM turned that into exploitation and worse
Roy and Rianne's Righteously Royalty-free RSS Reader (R.R.R.R.R.R.) Version 0.2 is Released
They say summer "officially" started some days ago
Torvalds' Number Two Quit Linux a Decade Ago and Has Since Then Earned an Honorary Doctorate
Revisiting Fuzix and Alan Cox
GNU/Linux Reaches All-Time High in Tunisia
Based on statCounter
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 23, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, June 23, 2024
Edward Brocklesby (ejb) & Debian: Hacking expulsion cover-up in proximity to Oxford and GCHQ
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
You Know the Microsoft Products Really Suck When...
"Qualcomm and Microsoft go 'beyond the call of duty' to stop independent Copilot+ PC reviews"
IBM and "Regime Change"
Change of regime is not the same as freedom
Microsoft Windows in Nicaragua: From 98% to Less Than 25%
Operating System Market Share Nicaragua
Techrights in the Coming Decade: The Community Angle
Somebody needs to call them out on their BS
Techrights in the Coming Decade: The Software Angle
Gemini Protocol has just turned 5 - i.e. roughly the same age as our Git repositories
Techrights in the Coming Decade: The Patent Angle
Next month marks 10 years since we began covering EPO leaks
Wookey, Intrigeri, Cryptie & Debian pseudonyms beyond Edward Brocklesby
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock