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Consumer Energy Use Data Access in the 112th Congress: A Section-by-Section Summary of the e-KNOW Act

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Resource Type:
Federal Legislation
Author(s): 
Lowell Ungar
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The Electric Consumer Right to Know Act (“e-KNOW,” S. 1029), introduced by Senators Mark Udall (D-Co., an Alliance honorary co-chair) and Scott Brown (R-Mass.), would require that utilities provide consumers with data about their energy use, particularly for those with smart meters. The bill is a revision of one proposed by Udall in the 111th Congress, which had counterpart legislation from Rep. Markey (D-Mass.) in the House. The bill has been referred to the committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Summary of provisions

The findings section states that electricity consumers ought to be able to access data on their own electricity use and, should they so choose, allow third parties access to their data as well. They have a right to privacy and security of the data. Data would not necessarily have to be provided via a smart meter, but instead could be sourced from other types of meters and monitors. Utilities should use standards recognized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The remainder of the bill is composed of a section that would be added to the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). Note that almost all of the specifics below could be changed in guidelines described at the end.

In short, consumers with smart meters would be granted the right to access data on their energy use within 48 hours after use at the intervals at which the data is recorded and stored (a smart meter is defined in the text, but it measures use at intervals of one hour or less). Those without smart meters would be granted access as soon as practicable after utilities acquired the data – and at a granularity not less than used for billing.

Consumers could also authorize third parties to access the information. The findings state that consumers should have a right to know how third parties to whom they grant data access would manage such data, but it is not clear how this right would be implemented.

The data to be made available would include energy use, cost, and rates over the period. Non-residential customers for whom data on other aspects of electrical use are available, including on kilowatts, voltage, frequency, current, and power factor, would also be able access such information.

The data would be in electronic form in conformance with nationally recognized open standards.  Where technically feasible, consumers would also be able to access this information directly off the smart meter itself in read-only format.

This information would have to remain accessible to the consumers through a website or other electronic access for at least thirteen months. But such access would need to not interfere with the security or privacy of utility operations or the consumer.

The data would be available free of charge, although utilities could recover reasonable and prudent costs to implement these requirements subject to approval by their state regulator.

Within 180 days of passage, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) would establish guidelines for minimum standards for consumer data access in accordance with this act and in consultation with relevant stakeholders.  The guidelines would include the timeliness and granularity of the data, open standards for the data, the definition of smart meters, and protection of data security and consumer privacy, including consumer consent requirements.

State attorneys general could bring action against non-complying utilities in Federal district courts, but utilities would have a safe harbor if FERC determined that they were complying with the guidelines.

For more information