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ARTICLE · 06 AUGUST 2012

Privacy And The Smart Grid: How Privacy Protections Were Designed Into Ontario's Central Meter Data Repository

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By its nature, a smart electrical grid improves efficiencies by better utilizing information in the operation and management of an electricity system.

CanadaConsumer Protection
Peter Murphy
Peter Murphy
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By its nature, a smart electrical grid improves efficiencies by better utilizing information in the operation and management of an electricity system. Gathering and processing information about consumers of electricity is central to a smart grid. This is illustrated by the U.S. Department of Energy's definition of "smart grid" which is set out below:

"A smart grid is an electrical grid that uses computers and other technology to gather and act on information, such as information about the behaviors of suppliers and consumers, in an automated fashion to improve the efficiency, reliability, economics, and sustainability of the production and distribution of electricity1."

Given the central role that consumer information plays in the concept of a smart grid, it is not surprising that issues of privacy often arise when the smart grid is discussed. It is also not surprising, given the public's relative lack of understanding of the electrical grid and how it operates,

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