Smart electric meters collect data on electricity use to potentially improve efficiency for utilities, shape power consumption, and ultimately reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Consumer groups and experts have raised concerns about privacy, as smart meters can provide detailed information about activity within the home. This study examines privacy beliefs of U.S. consumers using qualitative data from focus groups together with experimental data from a national online survey of utility customers. Exploratory analysis of focus group findings suggested that consumers who felt in control of their data perceived fewer risks and more benefits from having access to the data. Participants in the online experiment saw greater risk and less benefit when advised that smart meters could be used to raise prices under time‐of‐use pricing. Participants also saw greater risk when the utility shared customer data with a third party. Risks and benefits influenced perceptions of control. These findings accord with several information privacy frameworks adding new insights about consumers' perceived control over their energy data. The findings can inform utility companies and policymakers with respect to giving consumers more control over their data, reducing consumers' privacy concerns, communicating benefits of smart meter data, and providing accurate information about the risks.

中文翻译：

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信息的风险，收益和控制：智能电表隐私的两项研究

智能电表收集有关用电量的数据，以潜在地提高公用事业的效率，调整功耗并最终减少温室气体排放。消费者团体和专家提出了对隐私的担忧，因为智能电表可以提供有关家庭活动的详细信息。这项研究使用来自焦点小组的定性数据以及来自全国公用事业客户在线调查的实验数据，检验了美国消费者的隐私信念。对焦点小组调查结果的探索性分析表明，对数据有控制权的消费者认为，访问数据会减少风险，并会带来更多收益。当被告知使用智能电表可以按照使用时间定价来提高价格时，在线实验的参与者看到了更大的风险和更少的收益。当公用事业与第三方共享客户数据时，参与者还看到了更大的风险。风险和收益影响了对控制的认识。这些发现符合几个信息隐私框架，为消费者感知到的对其能源数据的控制提供了新的见解。这些发现可以为公用事业公司和决策者提供信息，使他们可以更好地控制消费者的数据，减少消费者的隐私担忧，传达智能电表数据的好处以及提供有关风险的准确信息。