An empirical model for smart meters using data security

Consumer concern regarding the privacy of their electric power usage behavior has been a major sticking point, disrupting utility fielding of smart-meters in many municipalities and regional service areas. Securing power meter readings in a way that addresses these privacy issues would alleviate public concerns and facilitate the implementation of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). This paper proposes an empirical secure data transmission model by examining the parameters that affect the required time to transmit secured data for a network of smart meters and collectors. In this paper, the data security is accomplished using Partial Homomorphic Encryption (PHE), and the transmission of data is facilitated by configuring the smart meters and collectors hierarchically. A case study compares PHE simulation program execution times running on various Advanced RISC Machine-based (ARM-based) boards and virtual machines to determine the efficiency by which the smart meters meet a reasonable meter reading polling time for a service area.