TY - JOUR
T1 - Risks, benefits, and control of information
T2 - Two studies of smart electric meter privacy
AU - Rieks, Angela Ramnarine
AU - Dedrick, Jason
AU - Stanton, Jeffrey
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the National Science Foundation (SES‐1447589) and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Funding Information:
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; National Science Foundation, Grant/Award Number: SES‐1447589 Funding information
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Association for Information Science and Technology
PY - 2020/9/1
Y1 - 2020/9/1
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
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U2 - 10.1002/asi.24374
DO - 10.1002/asi.24374
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85086047924
SN - 2330-1635
VL - 71
SP - 1060
EP - 1073
JO - Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology
JF - Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology
IS - 9
ER -