[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1029 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1029

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

                              May 19, 2011

  Mr. Udall of Colorado (for himself and Mr. Brown of Massachusetts) 
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 and access to the 
        electric energy usage information of the consumers will help 
        consumers more effectively manage usage;
            (2) consumers have a right of access to the electric energy 
        usage information of the consumers;
            (3) the right of access to electric energy usage 
        information should be based on the need to have access to the 
        information rather than on a specific type of smart metering 
        technology and, as a result, all usage information platforms 
        can compete and innovation will be fostered;
            (4) utilities should provide electric energy usage 
        information based on the best capabilities of the metering 
        technology currently deployed in the respective service areas 
        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 directly from the electric meters of the 
        consumers or from sources independent of the electric meters, 
        and from sources independent of the utilities of the consumers;
            (6) consumers should retain the right to the privacy and 
        security of electric energy usage information of the consumers 
        created through usage;
            (7) consumers should have the right to control the electric 
        energy usage information of the consumers and the right to 
        privacy for the information when third party aggregators of 
        data are involved in creation, management, or collection of the 
        information; and
            (8) consumers should have the right to know how the 
        authorized third-party data manager of the consumers will 
        manage the retail electric energy information of the consumers 
        once the manager has accessed the information.

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;
                    ``(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;
                    ``(C) the cost of usage by the consumer, including 
                (if smart meter usage information is available) the 
                estimated cost of usage since the last billing cycle of 
                the consumer; and
                    ``(D) 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).
            ``(2) Smart meter.--Except as provided in subsection (e), 
        the term `smart meter' means the device 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 Rights.--
            ``(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--
                    ``(A) an electronic form, free of charge, in 
                conformity with nationally recognized open standards 
                developed by a nationally recognized standards 
                organization; and
                    ``(B) a manner that is timely and convenient and 
                provides adequate protections for the security of the 
                information and the privacy of the electric consumer.
            ``(2) Smart meters.--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 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.
            ``(3) Provider of information.--The information required 
        under this subsection shall be provided by the electric utility 
        of the consumer or such other entity as may be designated by 
        the applicable electric retail regulatory authority.
    ``(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 48 
                hours after consumption has occurred; 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 receipt in a data center (including 
        information provided by third party services) as is reasonably 
        practicable and as prescribed by the applicable electric retail 
        regulatory authority; 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 
                        billing meter in use at the premise of the 
                        electric consumer; or
                            ``(ii) in accordance with the guidelines 
                        issued under subsection (h); and
                    ``(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 
                more precise granularity, as prescribed by the 
                applicable electric retail regulatory authority.
    ``(d) Electric Energy Information Retention.--An electric consumer 
shall have the right to access the retail electric energy information 
of the consumer, through the website of the electric utility 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, unless a 
different period is prescribed by the applicable electric retail 
regulatory authority.
    ``(e) Data Security.--Access described in subsection (d) shall 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.--An electric 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 applicable electric retail regulatory 
authority.
    ``(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 electric utility.
    ``(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, 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) a definition of the term `smart meters'; 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 applicable 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 adopted 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 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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