Smart meter opposition: A 'conspiracy theory straight from the Interent'?
Posted by David Brooks | Monday, June 4, 2012
New Hampshire Business Review has a column by a former PUC chairman, Doug Patch, about this year's debate in the New Hampshire house over smart electric meters - specifically whether we should be worried about utilities and other snoops using them to figure whether you're operating, say, the TV or the microwave at a given time - or maybe even what show you're watching on you electricity-sucking flat panel. Read it here.
The column includes a great quote from a House debate on the issue: Rep. James Garrity, R-Atkinson, chair of the House Science Committee, "noted animatedly that his panel was not the Science Fiction Committee. ... (and called the concern) a 'conspiracy theory straight from the Internet.' "
I accidentally sat in on a portion of earlier debate on this, as I noted in an April column, but didn't hear any quotes that good.
The column takes no stance on various concerns about smart meters - although it does note: "the U.S. Department of Energy's inspector general said that many companies deploying smart meters had not done enough to protect the systems from hackers who might be after customers' personal information or who might be looking to sabotage utility grids."
