Data Access Initiatives Continue to Progress in U.S.
Date postedJune 27, 2019
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Data Access Initiatives Continue to Progress in U.S.
In the U.S., the number of states and utilities working to increase customer access to their energy-usage data—and for customer-authorized third parties—continues to grow. A recent report by the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center, the "50 States of Grid Modernization: Q1 2019 Quarterly Report, May 2019," notes, among other trends, that bills expanding customer data access were under consideration in at least nine states during Q1, 2019. In addition to state bills, energy plans for effective grid modernization from states and utilities are also progressing:
- 10 June: New Jersey's Draft 2019 Energy Master Plan called for customers to have easy access to standardized energy data and the ability to share data with third-party providers.
- 30 May: In its quarterly IT investment report (.PDF), National Grid (NY) notes its Green Button Connect project is scheduled to begin in fiscal year 2020.
- 25 March: The Hawaii Public Utility Commission, approved, subject to conditions, Hawaiian Electric Company's (HECO) request to begin implementing Phase 1 of its Grid Modernization Strategy, which includes enabling both customers and customer-authorized third-parties with access to standardized Green Button data.
In addition, state policy makers continue to hold energy-data work-group meetings to discuss best practices for providing utility customers with access to their energy data and the ability to share those data with third-parties. The Green Button Alliance participates in work-group meetings to educate on the many capabilities of Green Button Connect My Data: the industry’s utility-data access protocol and its ability to enable utility customers to authorize the secure sharing of their data for additional analysis. Work-group meetings were recently held in Maryland and Ohio:
- 21 June: The Maryland Public Service Commission held its Competitive Markets and Customer Choice Workgroup: Green Button Connect / Data Access. The GBA discussed how utilities can implement the Green Button standard to ensure customer data privacy and protect Personally Identifiable Information (PII); along with other benefits of utility-provided Green Button standardized data. A presentation on the Department of Energy's (DOE) DataGuard Energy Data Privacy Program followed.
- 23 May: The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) held its third PowerForward Modern Grid Data Workgroup meeting. The GBA addressed the key benefits enabled by Green Button standards-based energy-data sharing, including: how the Green Button standard is designed to ensure a customer's PII is protected; how the design allows for assurance of data in-transit; and the best protection methods for data at-rest.