[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1044 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1044
To enhance consumer access to electricity information and allow for the
adoption of innovative products and services to help consumers manage
their energy usage.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 22, 2015
Mr. Markey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enhance consumer access to electricity information and allow for the
adoption of innovative products and services to help consumers manage
their energy usage.
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 ``Access to Consumer Energy
Information Act'' or the ``E-Access Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY.
In this Act, the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Energy.
SEC. 3. CONSUMER ACCESS TO ELECTRIC ENERGY INFORMATION.
(a) In General.--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) Definitions.--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) Smart meter.--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) In general.--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) Consultation.--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) Contents.--
(i) In general.--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) Inclusions.--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, considers
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 under subclause
(I)(dd) should apply to third-party
agents contracting with a utility to
process the customer data of that
utility.
(E) Revisions.--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) In general.--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) Assistance.--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 2016, to remain available until expended.
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