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Review
. 2023 Apr 3;23(7):3697.
doi: 10.3390/s23073697.

Privacy Preservation in Smart Meters: Current Status, Challenges and Future Directions

Jonathan Kua  1 , Mohammad Belayet Hossain  1 , Iynkaran Natgunanathan  1 , Yong Xiang  1
Affiliations
Review

Privacy Preservation in Smart Meters: Current Status, Challenges and Future Directions

Jonathan Kua et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

Recent years have seen the rapid development of technologies in Smart Grids (SGs) to enhance electricity networks with digital and data communication technologies. SGs can proactively detect, react, and respond to dynamic changes in the network. SGs can also enhance the efficiency and reliability of electricity supplies and promote the integration of renewable energy sources. Smart Meters (SMs) are often seen as the first step to a successful implementation of SGs. While SMs enable Utility Providers and consumers to obtain near real-time information of energy consumption, they can also be exploited to infer sensitive consumer data. Therefore, privacy preservation in SMs is paramount in ensuring the widespread and successful deployment of SGs. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey of the state-of-the-art SM privacy-preserving techniques published in the literature over the past decade. We categorize these techniques based on the attack types and their objectives. We aim to offer a unique perspective in this survey article through the lens of privacy preservation, cross-cutting the wide range of techniques presented in the literature. We conclude by identifying the challenges and highlighting key future research directions in the field.

Keywords: adversaries; privacy preservation; renewable energy; smart grids; smart meters.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A typical Smart Grid infrastructure (based on [11]). The solid lines denote flow of power, and the dashed lines denote the information flow.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Renewable Energy Source (RES)-based smart metering system [20]. The solid lines denote flow of power, and the dashed lines denote the information flow.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Threat model of SM privacy in SGs. The solid lines denote flow of power, and the dashed lines denote the information flow.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Taxonomy of smart meter privacy-preservation approaches and techniques surveyed and reviewed in this paper.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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