Member Spotlight | San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)
Date postedJanuary 1, 2016
SDG&E has been a proud supporter of the Green Button initiative since its inception. Responding to the 90-day challenge of the U.S. White House, SDG&E launched "Green Button Download My Data" in December 2011. To date, more than 175,000 Green Button Downloads have been performed by SDG&E customers.
Functionality and Uptake Continues to Grow
In December 2012, SDG&E continued to expand on the commitment to Green Button technology by launching "Green Button Connect My Data". With Green Button Connect My Data, a SDG&E customer can select from one or more apps provided by third parties registered with SDG&E to automatically receive and analyze their energy usage data. SDG&E customers can use the Green Button Connect filtering tool to help them select a suitable app and then enroll directly via the SDG&E My Account portal. SDG&E has a total of 28 registered third parties, and sends approximately 5,600 data files on a daily basis to different Green Button Connect applications.
The Green Button Connect platform provides the foundation for SDG&E and other initiatives to send customer energy usage data in a secure and private manner. Lisa Davidson, Director, Customer Programs says, "Green Button Connect My Data and the apps empower customers to make informed choices about how they share their energy data and find new ways to save energy and money. The ESPI file format as a standard also provides for a relatively easy implementation for both the utility and the third party."
Looking Forward
SDG&E is committed to finding new and better ways to serve our customers and to support the advancement of the Green Button Ecosystem. "Green Button Connect is a very beneficial online tool from SDG&E that allows San Diego Unified School District to download its energy use for analysis and reporting," said Darin Vey, energy utilities program supervisor for the San Diego Unified School District. "Our district used this tool for the K-12 student energy competition last year with a database from a third party to connect to Green Button and to publish the results amongst the schools that were competing. It was very successful."
SDG&E looks forward to the continued innovative and engaging ideas that will come forth from the community of developers and other utilities both nationally and internationally. These types of innovation would not be possible without smart meters that provide real-time energy information that allows SDG&E customers to save money and conserve energy.