When a smart meter provider in Sweden was asked to replace 275,000 electricity meters with smart alternatives, the opportunity was huge. In partnership with the local city council, the company could deliver significant benefits, from reducing energy consumption to meeting local government regulations around data collection.
But every connection creates risk and the smart meter rollout would only be possible with robust reassurances around security and privacy. A smart grid is always vulnerable to attacks, potentially creating an access point for wider network access. A malicious attack could infiltrate the grid and bring the whole city’s power supply down.
At the same time, cyber-savvy customers could manipulate their smart meter reporting, affecting the amount they pay for energy.
