Smart meters usher in the digitalization of power distribution networks, which open up entirely new abilities and possibilities.
For the electricity company, all the aggregated data could be combined with generation data to better manage the anticipated load, by modelling how different parts of the country are using electricity and predicting where to transmit it. Smart meters also enable huge savings in human hours, as engineers will no longer need to visit a home every time troubleshooting and disconnections or reconnections of supply are needed– as many functions can be done virtually.
For consumers, smart meters provide much greater and more immediate information on their energy use, and faster, more accurate billing too. Greater insight enables greater control, so it is expected that many consumers will reduce their energy consumption – and their bills.
In the future, there will be many other parties that energy companies could share consumption data with, so they can offer different tariffs, better advice on how to use energy, or explore other opportunities and business models that are still to be created.
None of this would be possible without a high-level of cybersecurity, designed to build in the appropriate cyber risk management and mitigation from the outset, so that the organization could operate with confidence.
For this electricity company, EY teams were able to offer something truly different: an awareness of the specific unique challenges that smart meters introduce. This rollout touches every single citizen of a country in a way other systems do not, and there is a bond of trust that must not be broken.
EY consultants understand the complications of that, and particularly the implications beyond technology. By anticipating all potential cyber-attack routes, and the human risks and ramifications, EY teams helped the electricity company look at the wider risks that could impact the benefits of smart meters. The company is now in the process of implementing new people policies, security processes and technical controls to make certain that smart meters not only protect, but power a data-centric future that consumers and organizations alike can trust.
EY Cybersecurity enables trust in systems, design and data, so organizations can take more risk, make transformational change and enable innovation with confidence.