Smart Meters inherently have the capability to control any smart appliances in your house. Whirlpool and GE will have washer/dryer units and hot water heaters on the market this year. The system is two way - they send your consumption data and the system at the client end receives commands to control the smart appliances. One utility has boasted of being able to control over 200 electrical devices at a single home. It is expected that smart appliances will be mandated over the next 3-4 years.
See http://epic.org/privacy/smartgrid/smartgrid.html
NOT TRUE. I design them, for pete's sake; I know what I'm talking about. Very few smart meters my company ships have the ability to control anything except our load switches, and our partnering companies'. There is not some magic zot beam that can turn appliances off at will. Even the Zigbee Power Profile meters from my company and our competitors can't control just any and every appliance.