113 S2165 IS: Access to Consumer Energy Information Act
U.S. Senate
2014-03-27
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.
This Act may be cited as the Access to Consumer Energy Information Act
or the E-Access Act
.
2.
In this Act, the term Secretary
means the Secretary of Energy.
3.
Consumer
access to electric energy information
(a)
The Secretary shall encourage and support the adoption of
policies that allow electricity consumers access to their own electricity
data.
(b)
Eligibility for
State energy plans
Section 362(d) of the Energy Policy and
Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6322(d)) is amended—
(1)
in
paragraph (16), by striking and
after the semicolon at the
end;
(2)
by
redesignating paragraph (17) as paragraph (18); and
(3)
by
inserting after paragraph (16) the following:
(17)
programs—
(A)
to enhance
consumer access to and understanding of energy usage and price information,
including consumers’ own residential and commercial electricity information;
and
(B)
to allow for the
development and adoption of innovative products and services to assist
consumers in managing energy consumption and expenditures;
and
.
(c)
Voluntary
guidelines for electric consumer access
(1)
In
this subsection:
(A)
Retail electric
energy information
The term retail electric energy
information means—
(i)
the
electric energy consumption of an electric consumer over a defined time
period;
(ii)
the
retail electric energy prices or rates applied to the electricity usage for the
defined time period described in clause (i) for the electric consumer;
(iii)
the
estimated cost of service by the consumer, including (if smart meter usage
information is available) the estimated cost of service since the last billing
cycle of the consumer; and
(iv)
in the
case of nonresidential electric meters, any other electrical information that
the meter is programmed to record (such as demand measured in kilowatts,
voltage, frequency, current, and power factor).
(B)
The term smart meter means the device used by
an electric utility that—
(i)
(I)
measures electric
energy consumption by an electric consumer at the home or facility of the
electric consumer in intervals of 1 hour or less; and
(II)
is capable of sending electric energy
usage information through a communications network to the electric utility;
or
(ii)
meets
the guidelines issued under paragraph (2).
(2)
Voluntary
guidelines for electric consumer access
(A)
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall issue voluntary
guidelines that establish model standards for implementation of retail electric
energy information access in States.
(B)
Before
issuing the voluntary guidelines, the Secretary shall—
(i)
consult
with—
(I)
State and local
regulatory authorities, including the National Association of Regulatory
Utility Commissioners;
(II)
other
appropriate Federal agencies, including the National Institute of Standards and
Technology;
(III)
consumer and
privacy advocacy groups;
(IV)
utilities;
(V)
the
National Association of State Energy Officials; and
(VI)
other
appropriate entities, including groups representing commercial and residential
building owners and groups that represent demand response and electricity
data devices and services; and
(ii)
provide notice
and opportunity for comment.
(C)
State and local
regulatory action
In issuing the voluntary guidelines, the
Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be guided by actions taken
by State and local regulatory authorities to ensure electric consumer access to
retail electric energy information, including actions taken after consideration
of the standard established under section 111(d)(17) of the Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2621(d)(17)).
(D)
(i)
The voluntary guidelines shall provide guidance on issues
necessary to carry out this subsection, including—
(I)
the
timeliness and specificity of retail electric energy information;
(II)
appropriate
nationally recognized open standards for data;
(III)
the protection of
data security and electric consumer privacy, including consumer consent
requirements; and
(IV)
issues relating to access of electric energy information for owners and managers of multitenant
commercial and residential buildings.
(ii)
The
voluntary guidelines shall include guidance that—
(I)
retail electric
energy information should be made available to electric consumers (and third-party
designees of the electric consumers) in the United States—
-
(aa)
in an electronic machine readable form, without additional charge, in conformity with standards
developed through a voluntary, consensus-based,
multistakeholder process;
-
(bb)
as
timely as is reasonably practicable;
-
(cc)
at the
level of specificity that the data is transmitted by the meter or as is
reasonably practicable; and
-
(dd)
in a
manner that provides adequate protections for the security of the information
and the privacy of the electric consumer;
(II)
in
the case of an electric consumer that is served by a smart meter that can also
communicate energy usage information to a device or network of an electric
consumer or a device or network of a third party authorized by the consumer,
the feasibility should be considered of providing to the consumer or third-party
designee, at a minimum, access to usage information (not including price
information) of the consumer directly from the smart meter;
(III)
retail electric
energy information should be provided by the electric utility of the consumer
or such other entity as may be designated by the applicable electric retail
regulatory authority;
(IV)
retail electric
energy information of the consumer should be made available to the consumer
through a website or other electronic access
authorized by the electric consumer, for a period of at least 13 months after
the date on which the usage occurred;
(V)
consumer access
to data, including data provided to owners and managers of commercial and
multifamily buildings with multiple tenants, should not interfere with or
compromise the integrity, security, or
privacy of the operations of a utility and the electric consumer;
(VI)
electric energy
information relating to usage information generated by devices in or on the
property of the consumer that is transmitted to the electric utility should be
made available to the electric consumer or the third-party agent designated by the
electric consumer; and
(VII)
the same
privacy and security requirements applicable to the contracting utility should
apply to third-party agents contracting with a utility to process the customer data
of that utility.
(E)
The
Secretary shall periodically review and, as necessary, revise the voluntary
guidelines to reflect changes in technology, privacy needs, and the market for
electric energy and services.
(d)
Verification
and implementation
(1)
A State may submit to the Secretary a description of the
data sharing policies of the State relating to consumer access to electric
energy information for certification by the Secretary that the policies meet
the voluntary guidelines issued under subsection (c)(2).
(2)
Subject
to the availability of funds under paragraph (3), the Secretary shall make
Federal amounts available to any State that has data sharing policies described
in paragraph (1) that the Secretary certifies meets the voluntary guidelines
issued under subsection (c)(2) to assist the State in implementing section
362(d)(17) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C.
6322(d)(17)).
(3)
Authorization
of appropriations
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this subsection $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2015, to remain available until
expended.