Re: <nettime> Enforcing Rights by Technology

[Morlock Elloi <morlockelloi@gmail.com>]

Power utilities are following the portal strategy to avoid being 
commoditized as raw power suppliers (not unlike AOL and Genie wanting to 
be Internet portals, with everything going through their web.)

It's likely doomed to fail as before, this time for two reasons:

- household-class batteries are around the corner, and

- power lines and generation are most efficient at constant loads 
(minimum amount of peaks.)

It's only a matter of time - when will the cost of batteries beat peak 
pricing, combined with the local generation that needs not pushing back. 
Then the house will suck the power at constant rate 24/7 (if it's not 
generating it all), and the utility won't be able to see patterns.

> Motivator:
> 	The other day the news ran that by 2030 all
> 	electrical metering must be replaced by smart
> 	metering in Germany. I understand the wish to
> 	optimize energy production, but I am not quite
> 	satisfied that the ability of these technologies
> 	to monitor every time I put on the kettle or go
> 	to the toilet is only limited by some EU regu-
> 	lation stating that it is isn't permitted.

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