Press Release | GBA Becomes Inaugural Member of DataGuard Energy Data Privacy Partnership Program

Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) and Green Button Alliance Become Inaugural Members of DataGuard Energy Data Privacy Partnership Program

Formal Partnership Indicates Support for Safe Use and Sharing of Consumers’ Energy Data

Atlanta, Georgia, USA, June 27, 2018–Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) and Green Button Alliance (GBA) are the first organizations to join the DataGuard Energy Data Partnership Program.  The DataGuard Partnership Program offers a formalized way for member-based organizations to indicate their support for the DataGuard consumer privacy concepts and principles.

With the recent turmoil around the unauthorized use of personal information, SECC believes consumers will be reassured by the DataGuard mark that communicates that energy and technology providers are treating their personal energy usage data confidentially.

— Patty Durand,
President & CEO of SECC in 2018.

DataGuard is a voluntary program that provides high-level principles around the treatment, retention and disposal of customer data.  While the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity initiated the effort, the concepts and principles were created by industry stakeholders to provide a framework for establishing practices that safeguard the access, use and sharing of customer data, which are described in the Voluntary Code of Conduct (VCC) [PDF].

The VCC is particularly useful for emerging vendors to encourage customers to authorize utilities to make customer data available for analysis and automation and to assure customers that the vendor will treat their personal data responsibly.

The Green Button Alliance leads the development of the Green Button utility-data exchange standard, which ensures utility customer-data privacy and the secure sharing of customer data.  The GBA’s partnership in the DataGuard program aligns with our ongoing commitment to responsible data access and customer privacy.

— Jeremy J. Roberts,
Executive Director, GBA

The SECC and the GBA will co-host a webinar about the DataGuard Partnership Program.  Other groups with an interest in customer privacy are invited to learn more at: 
https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2015/01/f19/VCC Concepts and Principles 2015_01_08 FINAL.pdf

About Green Button Alliance

Green Button Alliance is a nonprofit fostering the development, testing and compliance, and widespread adoption of the global Green Button electricity-, natural gas- and water-usage data- sharing standard.

Follow the GBA on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative

Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative is a nonprofit serving as a trusted source of information for industry stakeholders seeking understanding of consumers’ views about grid modernization, electricity delivery and energy usage and for consumers seeking an understanding of the value of a modern electrical grid.

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