Reconciling privacy and efficient utility management in smart cities

A key aspect in the design of smart cities is, undoubtedly, a plan for the efficient management of utilities, enabled by technologies such as those entailing smart metering of the residential consumption of electricity, water or gas. While one cannot object to the appealing advantages of smart metering, the privacy risks posed by the submission of frequent, data-rich measurements cannot simply remain overlooked. The objective of this paper is to provide a general perspective on the contrasting issues of privacy and efficient utility management, by surveying the main requirements and tools, and by establishing exploitable connections. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.