Privacy-preserving publication of time-series data in smart grid

Abstract

The collection of fine-grained consumptions of users in the smart grid enables energy suppliers and grid operators to propose new services (e.g., consumption forecasts and demand-response protocols) allowing to improve the efficiency and reliability of the grid. These services require the knowledge of aggregate consumption of users. However, an aggregate can be vulnerable to reidentification attacks which allow revealing the users' individual consumption. Revealing an aggregate data is a key privacy concern. This paper focuses on publishing an aggregate of time-series data such as fine-grained consumptions, without indirectly disclosing individual consumptions. We propose novel algorithms which guarantee differential privacy, based on the discrete Fourier transform and the discrete wavelet transform. Experimental results using real data from the Irish Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) demonstrate that our algorithms achieve better utility than previously proposed algorithms.