Grant, I agree with you that just pushing this this stuff top down on to the people without having a plan at all isn't the right approach. No free choice on electricity provider in UK?
Anyone using a smart phone shouldn't be too concerned about data mining of electricity providers. All is lost anyway.
Smart metering done the right way should give the consumer the possibility to decide on it's own, i.E. to start the dishwasher when the rates are low for the next 2 hours or so. This will help to balance the grid, it's just that you do the washing, grain the mill etc. when the sun shines and the wind blows, otherwise it gets expensive/sweaty. Mankind has done so since thousands of years, why shouldn't we? It's not the end of the world, just the opposite I'd say.