Smart Meters
OPPD has AMR (Automatic Meter Reads) that will broadcast the reading for certain areas.
These are somewhat "smart" meters, but are not the ones that are mostly discussed or written about now.
They can't be used to shut off power or receive other commands. They are also not smart sensing to broadcast when power is lost, etc.
Not sure on encryption, etc.
Smart meter's are costly and I don't think that Nebraska has quite the right incentives to get them installed.
Federal Grants and other subsidies may change that.
Smart meters do allow for better monitoring of power and overall grid monitoring to get better reliability and faster responses to outages. They can also help with troubleshooting outages to determine where a fault is.
Depending on the resolution of the reading, you can figure out when someone is home or not over a period of time.
You could also do this with several Wi-Fi and internet enabled smart thermostats.
Air-Conditioners
OPPD has an air-conditioner cycling program to help reduce peak demands.
There is a box installed on the outside of the house and it is used to cycle the power to the A/C.
It works similar to a pager and only receives a signal to turn off the A/C