Lance McKee: The Consumers should Control all Authorizations

(1) Who owns the home energy usage data?

From the standpoint of consumer acceptance, federal policies should mandate or encourage states and utilities to guarantee consumers more privacy, not less privacy than they have now.

(2) Should individual consumers and their authorized third-party service providers have the right to access energy usage data directly from the meter?
The key is to offer consumers more rights and protections. So, yes.

(3) 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?

Because people want independence and privacy, the utility network should stop at the meter, except for those signals necessary for safe operation and transparent accounting of grid-connected microgeneration. Real-time price information should be available ubiquitously on the internet in a simple standard format. Details of usage should be available via home networks via standard encodings and interfaces, but not available to utilities unless a homeowner wants to adopt a "commercial option" that provides the utility with more information. Commercial customers are more likely to accept a utility's active control of their usage.

(4) What types of policies are needed to gain consumer confidence that personal energy usage data is secure and not subject to abuse?

Re data security: Utilities should be subject to the same policies that govern banks and other institutions that collect and store consumer data. Re data abuse: Utilities need to be held to high standards of transparency, not because abuse is likely, but because suspicion of abuse is widespread. One way to actually, obviously and directly protect and enhance citizens' autonomy would be to simply expand the Energy Star program, phasing in simple control panels to set price thresholds and timings. Such appliances would accept a standard price signal obtained via any internet medium (and also a shut-off signal with the commercial option), but would be incapable of sending information unless enabled by the consumer. "Home network" would be one option. "Commercial" would be another. But the default would be "Off". Note that utilities would not be liable for what consumers do. Utilities' responsible provision of price and shut-off signals would be easy to monitor.

Overall, the solution to uptake is to offer consumers more rights, more protections, and a new level of participation in a simple and transparent free market that encourages efficiency, conservation and microgeneration. Position the smart grid as new technology that promotes personal freedom, responsibility and prosperity while helping the US get out of debt and become energy-independent.