Looking to sell utility billing data to lenders, Urjanet rakes in $20 million

https://urjanet.com/services/utility-bill-data/

(click on photos to enlarge)

“Urjanet’s technology is used to track cost and usage information from 4,000 utilities in 30 countries. That data collected from electric, gas, telecommunications, water, and waste providers, is used by small and medium-sized businesses, and multinational companies, to automate accounting and bill processing, manage energy costs, and comply with reporting regulations, the company said….

“Oak HC/FT’s financing will enable us to broaden our reach to the world’s largest corporations and utility providers, as well as accelerate our launch of new applications using utility data as an alternative source for credit scoring and identity verification,” said Sanjoy Malik, Urjanet’s chief executive, in a statement.”

https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/02/looking-to-sell-utility-billing-data-to-lenders-urjanet-rakes-in-20-million/

Our data is more valuable than the electricity being sold.  And, YES, BC Hydro and FortisBC are clients of Urjanet.  Search:  https://urjanet.com/utility-data/  by typing in BC Hydro and FortisBC.

https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/The-Age-of-Surveillance-Capitalism-The-Fight-for-a-Human-Future-at-the-New-Frontier-of-Power-by-Shoshana-Zuboff.png

Surveillance Capitalism Includes Utility “Smart” Meters. Utility Companies Collect Customer Usage Data 24/7. Are Yours Selling It to 3rd Parties?

“Recently, Harvard professor Shoshana Zuboff published a new book called The Age of Surveillance Capitalism which reveals how businesses not only offer services to customers – they collect personal data on them in order to sell it to 3rd parties.  Much of this is done without customer knowledge or consent….

Urjanet’s technology is used to track cost and usage information from 4,000 utilities in 30 countries.”

https://www.activistpost.com/2019/02/surveillance-capitalism-includes-utility-smart-meters-utility-companies-collect-customer-usage-data-24-7-are-yours-selling-it-to-3rd-parties.html

Please note: This article includes the updated version of “Take Back Your Power”, which is very good, until the last 10 min. or so in which he speaks of liability, legality, etc. I wish to warn you that Josh makes statements that do not pertain to BC where smeters are mandated by law. The law was written by the Liberals and is supported by the NDP. Until the Clean Energy Act is changed, we are stuck if we want electricity. Many of us have paid thousands in extortion fees — which have yet to be accounted for — and many of us continue to pay. Many others, the vast majority, were given no choice to even pay the extortion. Josh also promotes his unique, and “legal” approach that lawyers say will not work and which never managed to prevent the installation of or the removal of a smeter in BC — or elsewhere that I have been able to confirm. Our only way to protect our homes and our rights is to demand that these things be removed from our homes and analog meters returned by demanding that the Clean Energy Act be amended.

Also in this article is a link to an interesting article about how a company (Urjanet) is gathering and selling data obtained via smeters to various corporations, including financial institutions which are using it to determine credit scores. This is yet more evidence that smeters are gathering data not needed for billing and, without our permission or awareness, it can be sold.

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1) – https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/2019-04-25-hydro-and-fortis-linked-to-company-that-sells-smeter-data/