Smart meters tackling energy poverty mitigation: uses, risks and approaches

Abstract

Big data analysis is becoming an increasing field of interest for research to analyse, identify and predict final user’s behaviour. For this reason, in the energy sector, smart metering is generally used to find new business opportunities and, theoretically, it is said that it could also help to fight energy poverty issues. Nonetheless, when tackling social injustice issues, the deployment of massive technology might also bring other side effects. This study analyses the capability of smart metering to mitigate energy poverty in Europe according to the current approaches of projects and the risks it might bring to the more vulnerable layers of our society.