I've always wondered this and still haven't gotten a solution

I've always wondered this and still haven't gotten a solution.

How do power companies get the information about how many watt hours you've used?

How does the data on your watt hour meter get transferred to the power company for them to bill you?

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depends, some places its done automatically via the internet, other places some guy comes round every month or two and looks.

My meter is digital.

I'm gonna go down there and see if there are any phone lines connected to it.

Ok, so I just went down there.

None of the phone lines go into the electrical box. And the only wire I can see coming into the electrical meter is the large power wire.

I've lived here for years, and no person has ever come here to look at my meter.

How is it done?

See
I used to do it for a quid.

NL smart meters have a GPRS modem inside.

Mostly, over radio.

If you have some time to kill, this talk might interest you:
media.ccc.de/v/33c3-8272-on_smart_cities_smart_energy_and_dumb_security

Most of the time they are connected to the cell phone network. Every few minutes they upload usage data to the power company.

Also your street probably has its own meter so the power company can monitor for discrepancies like if anyone is trying to steal power.

I live out in the sticks and have to either mail in my monthly usage amount, or fill it in online. They come by every 6 months to make sure I'm reporting correct numbers.

It's directly transferred together with your contract number through your power line.
Think of it like PLC.

Wow. that's insane.

Here we've got this digital ones that come with an RFID card.

Every month, a green light comes up signaling it's time to place the card on top of the meter, and then your consumption gets uploaded. You take that card to an automatic teller machine, pay, and then place the card on top of the meter again. Payment confirmed, green light goes off, and there you go.

Ignoring the green light leads to a red light, and then the meter cuts off your power until you pay.

Before that they had these guys reading every meter. Both are equally convoluted. 3rd world shenanigans.

GPRS most of the time if it's a smart meter

Source: I work for a gas and electric company that specialises in them (we focus on prepayment tho). Our older generation ones used to use sonar signals

some dude comes round and does it twice a year or you send it to them.

but now some places are getting meters with a built in GSM radio, so the meter can send readings on it's own, without anyone having to come see it.

the smart meters have ad hoc wireless networks

not all of them, only certain ones have a zigbee network, which is used for in home displays, as it's the same protocol, as wireless thermostats, light bulbs, and power outlets.

pretty sure you're wrong. nearly all of the modern smart meters have ad hoc wireless capability to communicate with other meters.

nope, they have a GSM/GPRS radio for sending readings to the energy provider, as they log the serial number for the meter to your account and the S/N is sent with the reading so the provider knows which meter it is.

the zigbee network is used for the meters to connect to a IHD, as all what the zigbee network sends out is current power draw, the stored history of energy usage, and what tariff you're on.

and other than the menu button pad, all what the meter has on it is an LED which blinks for every KW or m3 used, an LED for WAN which indicates it's got a GSM signal, and another LED for the HAN which blinks every few seconds as the IHD refreshes.

so every smart meter has a cell network transmitter?

yes.

>when CCC became better than DEFCON
I aint even mad just surprised how hard Americans have dropped the ball.

Google Scada controllers

>he fell for the digital meter meme

>Hack RFID card
>...
>Profit