[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 15, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4940-S4941]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. UDALL of Colorado:
  S. 3487. 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; to the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss a bill 
that I filed, called the Electric Consumer Right to Know Act. This bill 
takes a common-sense step toward broadening consumers' access to data 
about their electricity usage. On top of that, I am proud to say that 
this idea came directly from one of my Colorado constituents.
  In today's marketplace, consumers have a clear understanding of the 
price of gasoline and what their car mileage means for their pocket 
books. They also have ready access to the number of minutes remaining 
on their cell phone. However, consumers lack clear, timely data about 
their electricity use and its price. Providing increased transparency 
will help consumers with their decisions about electricity usage in 
their home or business.
  The bill I filed today would provide timely access to these data by 
establishing consumers' clear right to access data on their own 
electricity usage. This right is an important step toward a more 
effective, reliable and efficient electrical grid, and a step toward 
helping consumers use electricity more efficiently and save money on 
their electric bills.
  For the past year I have been travelling across Colorado as part of a 
work force tour to talk directly to Coloradans and hear their 
innovative policy ideas to create jobs, including hosting an Energy 
Jobs Summit in Denver back in February. As part of this Summit, we 
asked experts in energy policy and business to join us for a 
conversation about how we can better position Colorado and the United 
States to lead in the 21st century clean energy economy.
  We heard from Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Governor Bill Ritter, 
Senator Michael Bennet, and Congressman Ed Perlmutter. But, more 
importantly, we heard from Coloradans who came to share their views on 
what the Federal Government can do, or in some instances not do, to 
support job creation and transition to cleaner and more efficient 
energy use.
  One consumer participant at the Summit noted that, even though he had 
a smart meter at his home, his power company would not let him access 
his electrical meter readings to learn how he was using electricity. If 
he could access those readings, he could better understand his energy 
use, learn how to be more energy efficient and save money. That is why 
I am introducing the Electric Consumer Right to Know Act to improve 
communication between the consumers and their utility, spur innovation 
in developing creative technologies that will save energy, and provide 
clarity while these programs are being developed.
  This bill has several important parts. First, it establishes a 
framework for the right to access information, defining specifically 
what that right means, and giving clarity to those who will further 
develop and enforce that right. This bill says that if you have a smart 
meter, or similar electronic device that reads electric energy usage, 
that you ought to have access to the utility company's data on your 
energy use.
  How that access is granted is delineated in three ways in this bill:
  If your meter communicates with your utility on an hourly or shorter 
time interval, my bill states that your meter readings should be 
available within 24 hours.
  Second, if your smart meter is capable of communicating energy use 
data directly from your meter, under this bill, you have the right to 
access those data and use them directly at your home or business.

[[Page S4941]]

  Third, for consumers who have standard meters, with this bill, there 
are no additional requirements except that your readings shall be 
available electronically in a timely manner.
  Next, the bill directs the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission to 
convene an open, extensive and inclusive stakeholder process to work 
through the details of this measure to ensure that implementing the 
consumers' right to access their information also retains consumer 
privacy, and ensures the integrity and reliability of the grid.
  The outcome of this process will be national guidelines establishing 
the right of consumers to access their electricity data, including 
minimum national standards that utilities must meet to ensure that 
right of access. In developing those minimum standards, the FERC will 
take into consideration the ongoing and important work at the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology in developing a smart grid 
roadmap, as well as the innovative state and local programs already 
being developed across the country to integrate smart meters into the 
electrical grid, including Colorado, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, 
and others.
  In Colorado, Xcel Energy has been working with the City of Boulder on 
a pilot program called SmartGridCity to develop a community-scale smart 
grid with over 20,000 residents participating. Not only are these 
consumers improving their understanding of their electricity use, Xcel 
notes that they have already avoided several blackouts due to the 
improved communication between consumers and the grid. Power 
interruptions cost the American economy roughly $80 billion per year 
and \2/3\ of those losses come from interruptions lasting less than 
five minutes. I am proud to see Coloradans and our state's utilities 
taking important steps together in learning how to make the grid more 
reliable, efficient, and help save everyone money.
  Finally, part of ensuring the right to access your data includes the 
right to retain the privacy of your data. When consumers gain access to 
their data, they will also need to clearly understand how it will be 
used, especially when consumers grant third-party access to it. This is 
why this bill states that the FERC will establish, among other 
important measures, guidelines for consumer consent requirements. 
Retaining privacy is critical to building consumer trust in the smart 
grid and facilitating the transition to when the smart grid becomes a 
part of everyday life for every American family.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues and all interested 
stakeholders in establishing this right, defining it in a way that 
eliminates unintended consequences, and enforcing this right in a way 
that improves the efficient use of electrical energy.
  This bill is an important first step in implementing smart meters 
across the country, moving us toward an electrical grid that is more 
reliable and more efficient a smart grid' if you will. There are 
several pieces of the puzzle that will be required to realize that 
future, and one critical part of that puzzle is the right of consumers 
to access their electricity data. I urge my colleagues of both parties 
to join me in supporting this important legislation.
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