Posted by George W. Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability, NIST, March 2, 2010
Thanks to all who responded to the first set of questions regarding the nation’s evolving “smart” electric power system. Lots of good ideas and insights were expressed on the architecture of the customer interface to the Smart Grid and, in turn, on how to ensure that consumers realize maximum benefit from grid modernization—as taxpayers and ratepayers.
This public dialog is unprecedented. There was nothing comparable during the design and development of other major infrastructural systems, such as the nationwide telephone network or the interstate highway system. Public discussion during the early stages of a major technological transformation—as is the case with the Smart Grid—will help to flag key issues, resolve misunderstandings and sources of confusion, and, ultimately, lead to better decisions and policies.
Last week’s questions on architecture were, admittedly, a bit geeky. However, a high-quality architecture is essential to ensuring that consumers get energy information when they need it and in a form they can act on as they wish. This week, we are opening discussion on some important policy topics that everyone can relate to: data ownership and access.
Does the data collected by a smart meter belong to the consumer, the utility, or both? Should consumers have the right to access energy-usage data collected by the meter and how often should they be able get current information on household energy consumption?
Electric meters are sometimes called “revenue meters.” Their traditional purpose has been to measure electricity usage so that the utility can bill the customer—typically, once a month. With smart meters, usage data can be transmitted to the utility much more frequently—in theory, nearly in real time. This is important because it provides the utility with better ability to measure load and keep the grid in balance to provide reliable and cost effective service.
But the Smart Grid is a two-way street. The capability also exists for the meter to provide actionable usage data electronically to the consumer (perhaps through a computer or in-home display). While the capability is there technically (or soon will be), in most states it is up to the utility to decide whether to turn that capability on and provide the customer with real time access to electricity usage data.
There is a related issue of privacy. For security reasons, data collected by the meter needs to be secure from eavesdroppers (think of burglars and even commercial vendors or law enforcement agencies). But what about access by legitimate third parties, such as energy management service providers that can help you become a “smart” consumer and trim your energy bill. Should consumers be able to assign data-access rights and control of in-home appliances devices without prior approval of their utilities?
To continue the discussion, we would like to hear your views on the following questions:
Who owns the home energy usage data?
Should individual consumers and their authorized third-party service providers have the right to access energy usage data directly from the meter?
If the smart meter, via the utility network, is the primary gateway for obtaining residential energy usage data, will it be technically and commercially feasible for consumers and their authorized third-party service providers to access the data easily and in real time?
What types of policies are needed to gain consumer confidence that personal energy usage data is secure and not subject to abuse?
We look forward to hearing from you.
Information on how to participate in this discussion can be found in the introduction to the blog. We look forward to hearing from you.
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