http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_meterA smart meter is usually an electrical meter that records consumption in intervals of an hour or less and communicates that information at least daily back to the utility for monitoring and billing purposes. [7] Smart meters enable two-way communication between the meter and the central system. Unlike home energy monitors, smart meters can gather data for remote reporting.
The government here is forcing all householders to install "smart meters" into their homes. There is nothing you can do to refuse and they charge you $400 or so on your bill for this "service" which will allow them to monitor your electricity usage remotely.
The point is would they be able to tell if someone is mining bitcoins simply from their electricity usage in relation to a computer being left on and send you friendly reminders to switch it off or more harsh measures if you ignore the demands to do so ?
Things to ponder....
Marijuana plants apparently need a lot of sunshine to grow. So, anyone attempting to cultivate weed inside their homes typically end up having to use plenty of high-wattage light bulbs. One result: the energy consumption of such homes tends to be between three and five times higher than comparably-sized homes in the same area.
So, by subpoenaing the utility records of suspected growers, police apparently can quickly figure out if they have enough probable cause for further investigation.
and it gets worse....
The technology is designed to let power companies better manage energy consumption and demand. It is also designed to help consumers gain better visibility into their energy consumption habits so they can weed out costly energy usage habits. Smart-metering technologies, when fully deployed, will be able to capture energy-use related information from individual appliances inside a home.
