When people hear the phrase 'smart
grid', they usually think of a supercomputer in an impregnable,
concrete, air-conditioned bunker that is continually adjusting and
tweaking the electric grid for maximum efficiency, or perhaps an army
of MacBook Airs connected to the tops of electric poles all networked
together giving our electric supply a brain.
Nothing could be further from the
truth.
The key to the 'smart grid' are smart
chips embedded in all of your appliances that are heavy users of
electricity: refrigerator, dishwasher, clothes dryer, air
conditioner, plasma TVs, and heaven only knows what else. If the
energy police decide that you are using more than your fair share of
electricity, they can cut back or even turn off your appliances. See,
these smart chips will be in radio contact with headquarters, and
they will be monitored and controlled by the energy police from
there, and you will have no say.
You might already have a 'smart'
electric meter installed in your home. Yes, this means that your
utility can read your meter remotely via data link in real time, but
it also means that they can cut off your electricity with just a
mouse click at headquarters during power shortages. With the old
mechanical meters, they had to send out a technician to manually turn
off the juice to your house.
Advocates will admit that without these
chips in all of your appliances, the 'smart' grid is largely
meaningless. Upgrading the infrastructure so it can carry larger
amounts of electricity and to connect to 'green' power sources is
irrelevant: these improvements can be done today, without the 'smart'
grid.
The 'smart' grid is a very, very bad
idea. Already, the knowledge police are telling you what type of
light bulbs you can use, what kind of toilet you can sit on, and how
much sugary soda and salt you can have. Now, they will be telling you
that you are watching too much TV or that you are using your air
conditioner too much. Are you sure that this is the type of country
you wish to live in? To put it another way: do the ends justify the
means?
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