Many of the exciting consumer innovations for the home that have been released or that are planned rely on the collection and use of consumer energy data. In A Policy Framework for the 21st Century Grid issued June 2011, the White House declared: “Permitting consumers to affirmatively authorize non-utility third-parties to access their data enables innovation among vendors and gives consumers options to select applications that meet their needs.”
Whether collected directly from consumers with devices or services they install or whether consumers authorize smart meters to provide energy data to third party service providers, it is essential that a flexible framework exists that ensures consumer privacy protections are in place and that responsible businesses can responsibly access the data needed to serve consumers. Regulatory efforts that create a bar to effectively serving consumers will limit the development of new services for consumers and limit the opportunities for smart grid innovations that will improve energy efficiency.
FPF is committed to supporting a flexible framework that ensures consumer privacy protections while still supporting the development and growth of new products and services. We are reaching out to a number of stakeholders about an effort that would help support that innovation in the home and smart privacy standards for consumers. Our goal would be to fill in the gaps beyond utility regulations, consistent with the best practices that leading groups have been working on, and provide a practical enforceable program that fills in the details for how consumers can enable new home services. If interested in learning more about the project, please email info@futureofprivacy.org.
You can also access this page by going to smartgridprivacy.org
If you are an app developer collecting energy data, check out our materials here.
Join the Smart Grid Privacy LinkedIn Group here.
Federal and State Smart Grid Activity