In late November 2011, over 300 privacy professionals gathered in Paris for the IAPP Europe Data Protection Congress. The event featured engaging debate and unparalleled education on the latest developments in privacy for the European data protection community, including a special track on the intersection of privacy and technology, which examined issues such as mobile privacy, “Privacy by Design,” the right to be forgotten and children’s perspectives on privacy and online interactions. See: s://www.privacyassociation.org/media/uploads/DPC11_Smart_Grid_PPT.pdf

1. Smart grids and private life
A view from France
IAPP Europe data protection congress
Christophe-Alexandre PAILLARD
Tuesday,
November
29,
2011
11
a.m.
–
12
p.m.
Paris

2. 2
Introduction

3. 3
New grids in Europe: what for?
• Europe needs a more efficient electricity system and new distribution
networks to face the growing complexity of systems management and a
possible growing gap between energy supplies and demand.
• New European grids thus mean stronger interconnections within the
European electricity system.
• The existing interconnections could go beyond their present limits to
the South, across the Mediterranean Sea, and possibly towards the
Russian electricity system.
• The recent opening of electricity markets led to the development of
smart meters such as Linky (March 2009) in France, which are the
cornerstone of smart grids in a new European distribution network.
• The European Commission targets 80% of smart meters in 2020 in the
EU.
• Networks are indeed moving from a passive to an active position
through the development of decentralized power generation.

4. 4
Europe is offering new energy measures
• The European objective is obviously to get greater control over
electrical supply and demand and to improve the grid’s efficiency on a
European level.
• Back in July 2009, the European Parliament and the Council published
a directive 2009–72 EC encouraging the use of smart meters, hoping for
80% of the European population to be equipped by 2020.
• The Commission and the Parliament also stepped up their support for
any use of smart meters since the beginning of 2011.
• The EU promotes the use of smart meters as part of its energy policy
and agenda for 2020.
• The Commission launched an initiative encouraging investments in this
sector. The European Parliament voted in favour of it last summer.

5. 5
I. Common European approaches and French
smart grids developments

6. 6
Italy and the Netherlands took the lead for
better and for worse: two opposed
approaches
• Italy is due to finish equipping its 36 million consumers at the end of
2011. The Italian Power company ENEL already announced its benefits
in terms of fewer service interruptions, from 128 to 49 minutes per year
and a 5% reduction in consumption peaks. It is also estimated that
losses due to various forms of fraud will eventually be reduced. There
was no real debate about privacy concerns.
• In the Netherlands, the company Oxxio introduced the first smart meter
for both electricity and gas in 2005.
In 2007, the Dutch government
proposed that all seven million households of the country should have
a smart meter by 2013. This plan was delayed due to limited
possibilities to register small scale local energy production such as
solar panels and to privacy concerns. On April 7, 2009 the Dutch
government had to back down after consumer groups raised privacy
concerns. Instead of a mandatory roll-out, smart meters are now
voluntary.

7. 7
Smart meters all over France in 2018
• France is preparing to embrace “smart meter” technology on a massive
scale: every household in France is due to have one by 2018. “Smart
meters” or “communicating meters” are electronic boxes which replace
traditional meters on a building’s switchboard.
• Its distinguishing feature is that it connects itself directly, mainly via
internet, with the grid management system. This new generation of meters
therefore provides all power managers, distributors and customers with
instant access to information on real-time power consumption.
• These data should enable power suppliers and distribution service
operators (EDF, Direct Energie, Poweo, GDF, etc.) to finely tune power
used by consumers over the short, medium and long term.
• In France, Linky meters are due to replace old EDF meters across the
country by 2018. Linky will communicate data remotely, transmitting it
directly to ERDF’s supervision centre. However, potential competitors
such as Siemens should be interested in competing on the French market
with its Digi X-grid technology.

8. 8
How Linky works: architecture chosen by
ERDF
Substation Central Information
"Concentrator " System
PLC Automation
Local LV
network GPRS
MV
network
Customers
Suppliers
8

9. 9
Linky: a revolution in itself
• Indeed, Linky will carry out commands remotely, meaning a
technician’s presence is no longer required. It offers numerous
possibilities to power distribution companies: precise knowledge of the
consumption structure in real-time, savings in travel costs, etc.
• Furthermore, by enabling consumers to precisely track their
consumption, smart meters should improve consumers’ behaviours,
with reduction in demand, as a result of differentiated tariffs or, in the
longer term, as a result of energy-saving measures (for example
insulation or low-energy light bulbs).
• A pilot experiment started in 2010. It was mainly conducted in Indre-et-
Loire (Tours area) and Lyon. It was conclusive enough to start rolling
out smart meters in the whole country from 2013 to 2018.
• 35 million meters will be installed by 2018 and new buildings will be
systematically fitted with them from 2012.

10. 10
European smart grids by 2020

11. 11
II. Smart grids in Europe : challenges to come
for privacy?

12. 12
Privacy protection versus energy efficiency?
• Smart meters intended to measure and control home electrical
consumption precisely. However, it could erode the privacy of daily life,
unless regulators limit data collection and disclosure.
• Indeed, in the absence of clear rules, these potentially beneficial smart
grid technologies could mean another intrusion on privacy.
• Utilities collecting detailed information about energy use in the home
must specify in advance how they are going to use that data and must
confine their collection to legitimate purposes.
• Utility companies should ensure that consumers have access to their
own data, so they can take advantage of innovative energy efficiency
services.
• The load graphs gathered by advanced energy metering projects will
allow the reconstruction of your life: when you wake up, when you get
home, when you go on vacation, etc.

13. 13
Load signature: what is the right time to
collect the data?
French meters could collect real-time consumption readings every 30
minutes. Data collected should be kept for two months. Last July, the French
energy regulation agency (CRE) guaranteed to the CNIL that private life would
be protected. However, the CNIL is still very cautious about the right real-time
consumption readings, possible rules on consent and data storage.

14. 14
Smart meter data may be used to determine
device usage in the home
• The CNIL insisted on providing information at not too short intervals.
Indeed, granular power consumption data include whether and how
often exercise equipment is used.
• No clear position from ERDF is currently given on consent.
• Researchers already mapped unique load patterns of different
equipment, showing that for instance washing machines pull power in
different ways than other devices. The CNIL is thus working on these
intervals with the French INRIA (National Institute for research in
computer science and control).
• Even if electricity use is not recorded minute by minute, or at the
appliance level, information may be gleaned from on-going monitoring
of electricity consumption such as the approximate number of
occupants, when they are present, as well as when they are awake or
asleep. The CNIL is thus aware of possible abuses (ou misuses).

15. 15
Conclusions

16. 16
Protecting customer privacy in smart grids
• Smart grids intelligent monitoring devices are vital information pertaining
to the privacy of the customer that can make them vulnerable to burglars,
annoying marketers, insurance companies, and civil litigations, etc.
• Smart grids are vulnerable to many attacks and the hackers can share the
usage information with external agencies like insurance companies,
electrical appliance makers, pharmaceutical companies, etc.
• The usage data stored in the utility server has the risk of being stolen and
misused.
• In order to preserve the privacy, one could send anonymous data packets
(which contain the usage information, but no user information).
• This approach allows the utility to forecast load in a region, but will neither
enable the utility to analyse individual usage data to advice the consumers
regarding their energy usage habits nor will the utility have a way to resolve
a bill dispute by mapping usage data with billing amount.
• Security and private life are not just a product or a protocol; it is a process
and a way of keeping the markets safe and reliable. The CNIL will do its
best to keep it alike.

17. 17
Questions/Answers