[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3487 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3487

To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to provide 
    electric consumers the right to access certain electric energy 
                  information, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 15, 2010

  Mr. Udall of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was read 
  twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to provide 
    electric consumers the right to access certain electric energy 
                  information, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Electric Consumer Right to Know 
Act'' or the ``e-KNOW Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) improving consumers' understanding of electric energy 
        use will help consumers efficiently manage personal energy use;
            (2) consumers have a right of access to the electric energy 
        information of the consumers;
            (3) the right to access should be provided based on 
        information requirements rather than dependent on specific 
        technology so that all platforms can compete and innovation 
        will be fostered;
            (4) utilities should provide that usage data based on the 
        best capabilities of the metering technology currently deployed 
        in respective service areas of the utilities or, on upgrade, 
        based on standards recognized by the National Institute of 
        Standards and Technology;
            (5) consumers should have the ability to access unaudited 
        usage information from sources independent of the electric 
        meters of the consumers (such as home energy management 
        systems) and from sources independent of the utilities of the 
        consumers; and
            (6) consumers should retain the privacy of the electric 
        energy information of the consumers.

SEC. 3. ELECTRIC CONSUMER RIGHT TO ACCESS ELECTRIC ENERGY INFORMATION.

    (a) In General.--Title II of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies 
Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 824 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 215. ELECTRIC CONSUMER RIGHT TO ACCESS ELECTRIC ENERGY 
              INFORMATION.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Retail electric energy information.--The term `retail 
        electric energy information' means--
                    ``(A) the electric energy consumption of an 
                electric consumer over a defined time period; and
                    ``(B) the retail electric energy prices or rates 
                applied to the electricity usage for the defined time 
                period described in subparagraph (A) for the electric 
                consumer.
            ``(2) Smart meter.--Except as provided in subsection (e), 
        the term `smart meter' means the meter used by an electric 
        utility that--
                    ``(A)(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
                    ``(B) meets the guidelines issued under subsection 
                (h).
    ``(b) Consumer Right.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each electric consumer in the United 
        States shall have the right to access (and to authorize 1 or 
        more third parties to access) retail electric energy 
        information of the electric consumer in an electronic form, in 
        conformity with nationally recognized open standards, free of 
        charge, and in a manner that is timely and convenient and that 
        provides adequate protections for the security of the 
        information and the privacy of the electric consumer.
            ``(2) Provider of information.--The information shall be 
        provided by the retail electricity provider of the consumer or 
        such other entity as may be designated by the authority 
        responsible for regulating the retail sale and delivery of 
        electricity to the consumer.
    ``(c) Information.--The right to access retail electric energy 
information under subsection (b) includes, at a minimum--
            ``(1)(A) in the case of an electric consumer that is served 
        by a smart meter, the right to access retail electric energy 
        information--
                    ``(i) in machine readable form, not more than 24 
                hours after consumption has been recorded; or
                    ``(ii) in accordance with the guidelines issued 
                under subsection (h); or
            ``(B) in the case of an electric consumer that is not 
        served by a smart meter, the right to access retail electric 
        energy information in machine readable form as expeditiously 
        after the time of collection as is reasonably practicable and 
        as prescribed by the entity with jurisdiction over metering and 
        retail electric service of the consumer; and
            ``(2) except as otherwise provided in subsection (d)--
                    ``(A) in the case of an electric consumer that is 
                served by a smart meter, data at a granularity that 
                is--
                            ``(i) not less granular than the intervals 
                        at which the data is recorded and stored by the 
                        meter in use at the premise of the electric 
                        consumer; or
                            ``(ii) in accordance with the guidelines 
                        issued under subsection (h);
                    ``(B) in the case of an electric consumer that is 
                not served by a smart meter, data at granularity equal 
                to the data used for billing the electric consumer, or 
                as prescribed by the entity with jurisdiction over 
                metering and retail electric service for the electric 
                consumer.
    ``(d) Retention.--An electric consumer shall have the right to 
access the retail electric energy information of the consumer, through 
the website of the retail electric provider or other electronic access 
authorized by the electric consumer, for a period of at least 13 months 
after the date on which the data is recorded, unless a different period 
is prescribed by the entity with jurisdiction over metering and retail 
electric service for the customer.
    ``(e) Direct Meter Access.--In the case of an electric consumer 
that is served by a smart meter capable of communicating 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 consumer 
shall, at a minimum, have the right to access (and to authorize 1 or 
more third parties to access) usage information in read-only format 
directly from the smart meter if access does not interfere with or 
compromise the integrity, security, or privacy of the operations of a 
utility and the electric consumer, in accordance with the guidelines 
issued by the Commission under subsection (h).
    ``(f) Cost Recovery.--A utility providing retail electric energy 
information in accordance with otherwise applicable regulation of rates 
for the retail sale and delivery of electricity may recover in rates 
the cost of providing the information, if the cost is determined 
reasonable and prudent by the entity with jurisdiction over metering 
and retail electric service for the consumer.
    ``(g) Additional Available Information.--The right to access 
electric energy information shall extend to usage information generated 
by devices in or on the property of the consumer that is transmitted to 
the retail electric provider.
    ``(h) Guidelines for Electric Consumer Access.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of this section, the Commission shall (after 
        consultation with State and local regulatory authorities, 
        including the National Association of Regulatory Utility 
        Commissioners, the Secretary of Energy, other appropriate 
        Federal agencies, including the National Institute of Standards 
        and Technology, consumer advocacy groups, utilities, and other 
        appropriate entities, and after notice and opportunity for 
        comment) issue guidelines that establish minimum national 
        standards for implementation of the electric consumer right to 
        access retail electric energy information under subsection (b).
            ``(2) State and local regulatory action.--In issuing the 
        guidelines, the Commission shall, to the maximum extent 
        practicable, preserve the integrity of and 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 
        under section 111(d)(17).
            ``(3) Content.--The guidelines shall provide guidance on 
        issues necessary to carry out this section, including--
                    ``(A) the timeliness and granularity of retail 
                electric energy information;
                    ``(B) appropriate nationally recognized open 
                standards for data;
                    ``(C) definitions of the terms `smart meters' and 
                `near real-time'; and
                    ``(D) protection of data security and electric 
                consumer privacy, including consumer consent 
                requirements.
            ``(4) Revisions.--The Commission shall periodically review 
        and, as necessary, revise the guidelines to reflect changes in 
        technology and the market for electric energy and services.
    ``(i) Enforcement.--
            ``(1) Enforcement by state attorneys general.--If the 
        attorney general of a State, or another official or agency of a 
        State with competent authority under State law, has reason to 
        believe that any electric utility that delivers electric energy 
        at retail in the relevant State is not complying with the 
        minimum standards established by the guidelines under 
        subsection (h), the attorney general, official, or agency of 
        the State, as parens patriae, may bring a civil action against 
        the electric utility, on behalf of the electric consumers 
        receiving retail service from the electric utility, in a 
        district court of the United States of appropriate 
        jurisdiction, to compel compliance with the standards.
            ``(2) Safe harbor.--
                    ``(A) In general.--No civil action may be brought 
                against an electric utility under paragraph (1) if the 
                Commission has, during the 2-year period ending on the 
                date of the determination, determined that the electric 
                utility, or the regulatory authority that regulates the 
                electric utility, adopted and implemented policies, 
                requirements, and measures, as necessary, that comply 
                with the standards established by the guidelines under 
                subsection (h).
                    ``(B) Procedures.--The Commission shall establish 
                procedures to review the policies, requirements, and 
                measures of State regulatory authorities and electric 
                utilities to assess, and issue determinations with 
                regard to, compliance with the standards.
            ``(3) Effective date.--This subsection takes effect on the 
        date that is 2 years after the date the guidelines under 
        subsection (h) are issued.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents for the Public 
Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end 
of the items relating to title II the following:

``Sec. 215. Electric consumer right to access electric energy 
                            information.''.
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