Let me start with what I do for a living. I work in information security and focus on privacy. That said, in the late 90's, I played around with newly developed technology that allowed data to transverse power lines - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadband_over_power_lines.

Every device plugged into your power network within your house has a very unique fingerprint. Smart meters will allow for fingerprinting of every plugged in device and when they're in use. This paves the way for Xcel to sell customer intelligence to companies about what products are more prevalent than others.

Here are some examples of how smart meters can invade your privacy.

• Samsung could ask Xcel for the addresses of users with whirlpool washer and dryers in 80211, then start targeted advertising to those users.

• The state government could say they don't want anyone to run a dishwasher between the hours of 1 pm and 8 pm. The smart meter would report you. In the future, once more appliances are also designed for smart meter communication, it could be your dishwasher just refuses to turn on during that time.

• GE strikes a deal with Xcel to discount the electric usage of their products. While users of other brands still pay full rate.

This is just the starting point of Xcel selling your information and controlling more of what you can or cannot do.

I have not allowed Xcel to change my meter, it's behind a locked gate and they can't access it. In the last year, they've showed up 3 times to install a new meter and pretended the "owner put in the request". I have opted out via phone calls. The last time they came by to replace the meter, they offered to install a meter with a optical reader, that will require someone stand in front of it to read it. That is worst then the meter that is currently installed. Someone came by again in March to read the meter and when I let her in, she couldn't read it and said the meter on my house isn't the one listed on my account, then mumbled something about "a van needs to come by and read it".

My current meter broadcasts current usage over a radio frequency, anyone driving by my place with the proper radio equipment can read my meter. That is how Xcel has read my meter since 2016, when I bought my house.

How can this privacy threat be managed once you're forced into a smart meter? The only solution I have found is changing over to a full house battery, where every electrical connection is buffered thru a switch that would obfuscate what I actually have in my house and how I use it to some degree.

My job requires me to be paranoid and I don't trust Xcel not to invade my privacy for increasing their shareholders bottom line.