After being frustrated by public utility commissions delaying rulings, for years and years, on how customers can control their energy data, despite approving billions of dollars of rate increases to cover the costs of advanced metering, we posted to social media a “pledge” for utility regulators.
The pledge is the definition of modesty — probably the smallest “ask” of any public official that can be made. We are simply asking whether commissioners, and commission staff, are willing to make meter data useful and accessible to customers, and their third party designees, within a 15 year time period, the generally-accepted useful life of most advanced electric meters.
Readers may be surprised to hear that data portability is frequently not considered by regulators, even when multi-million-dollar meter deployments are approved. Ideally, regulators would make cost recovery contingent upon utilities delivering value to consumers, such as data portability and energy savings. However, regulators frequently cave in to utilities on this front, leaving many states with the task of establishing policies on data portability and privacy long after meters have been deployed.
To highlight the remaining time left, we’ve assembled timers for individual states. The 15-year clock starts ticking when the commission approves advanced metering. (We know that’s a simplification, because technically useful life begins upon meter installation, not commission approval, but bear with us.) We’ll add to this list over time; just because a state isn’t included does not mean it’s off the hook.
Are you a regulator and would like to make the pledge? Please do so here!