Just Say No to Big Brother’s Smart Meters by Orlean Koehle
The GFA Controller developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is a small circuit board built into household appliances that reduces stress on the power grid by continually monitoring fluctuations in available power. During times of high demand, appliances equipped with the controller automatically shut down for a short period of time, resulting in a cumulative reduction that can maintain stability on the grid.
According to PNNL's website:
The controller is essentially a simple computer chip that can be installed in regular household appliances like dishwashers, clothes washers, dryers, refrigerators, air conditioners, and water heaters. The chip senses when there is a disruption in the grid and turns the appliances off for a few seconds or minutes to allow the grid to stabilize. The controllers also can be programmed to delay the restart of the appliances. The delay allows the appliances to be turned on one at a time rather than all at once to ease power restoration following an outage.
You can see how automatic actions are intended to be triggered by direct interaction between objects, without human intervention. The rules will be written by programmers under the direction of technocrats who understand the system, and then downloaded to the controllers as necessary. Thus, changes to the rules can be made on the fly, at any time and without the homeowner's knowledge. PNNL is not a private enterprise, however. It is "owned" by the U.S. Department of
Energy and operated by Battelle Memorial Institute! All of this technology will be enabled with Wi-Fi circuitry that is identical to the Wi- Fi-enabled network modems and routers commonly used in homes and businesses throughout the world. Wi-Fi is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance that refers to wireless network systems used in devices from personal computers to mobile phones, connecting them together and/or to the Internet. According to the Wi-Fi Alliance, "the need for Smart Grid solutions is being driven by the emergence of distributed power generation and management/monitoring of consumption." In their white paper, Wi-Fi for the Smart Grid, they list the specific requirements for interoperability posted by the Department of Energy:
Provide two-way communication among grid users, e.g. regional market operators, utilities, service providers and consumers; Allow power system operators to monitor their own systems as well as neighboring systems that affect them so as to facilitate more reliable energy distribution and delivery; Coordinate the integration into the power system of emerging technologies such as renewable resources, demand response resources, electricity storage facilities and electric transportation systems; Ensure the cyber security of the grid.
Thus, the bi-directional and real time Smart Grid communications network will depend on Wi-Fi from end to end. This is easily understood from the two figures included in the Wi-Fi Alliance white paper:
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