13 July: "Revel Turns to Software to Keep its e-Moped Fleet Powered without Straining NYC's Grid," TechCrunch. Logical Buildings’ GridRewards featured.

06 July: "New Zealand Government Agrees to Establish a Consumer Data Right," New Zealand Government press release.

29 June: "Consumers Satisfied with Smart Home Devices, But Data Privacy Concerns Linger," Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative press release.

23 June: "'A More Sustainable and Equitable Society': Enbridge Releases 20th Annual Sustainability Report," CSRWire. Enbridge featured.

21 June: "AES Ohio Secure Green Light for $249M Smart Grid Project," Smart Energy International.

15 June: "OhmConnect Bets $100M That Free Smart Thermostats Can Prevent Summer Blackouts in California," Canary Media. OhmConnect featured.

27 May: "Essential Information About Energy Usage in the State is Elusive, and That's a Costly Problem," New Hampshire Bulletin. New Hampshire statewide energy data access platform.

25 May: "25 Years - A Story of Evolution - 2011-2015", Smart Energy International. Green Button Initiative featured in timeline of significant industry evolution markers, launch profiled in the 04/2012 issue of SEI.

19 May: "California Mayors Partner with OhmConnect to Prevent Blackouts this Summer," OhmConnect press release.

14 May: "London Hydro Customers Participate in EV Charging Pilot," Canadian AutoWorld. Green Button Connect My Data platform.

03 May: "For the Business World, Carbon is starting to Hit Where It Hurts," GreenBiz, by Lincoln Peyton, ClearTrace.

26 April: "New York Regulators Address Data Access Issues In Bid to Grow Clean Energy Development," UtilityDive. Green Button Connect My Data platform.

16 April: "Unlocking Ontario's Energy Data - Rodan Energy Welcomes Ontario's Green Button Announcement," Rodan Energy press release. Green Button Initiative.

15 April: "PSC Further Strengthens Safe and Fair Access to Data to Meet New York's Clean Energy Goals," New York State Public Service Commission press release.

Green Button Alliance Announces Results of 2021 Board of Directors Election

The Green Button Alliance concluded its sixth annual Board of Directors election and is pleased to announce the addition of its new board members:

• James “Jay” Lewis, CEO, Big Data Energy Services was elected to serve in a two-year seat;
• Jeff Hendler, CEO, Logical Buildings was elected to a one-year seat and
• John Anderson, Director of Energy Markets, OhmConnect was re-elected to another one-year term.

In addition, on 12 January, Officers of the board…

• Syed Mir, London Hydro (GBA Chair),
• Daniel Roesler, UtilityAPI (GBA Vice-Chair), and
• John Anderson, OhmConnect (GBA Secretary)

13 January: "ENGIE North America Adds Nearly 2 GW of Renewable Energy in the U.S. in 2020," ENGIE North America press release.

13 January: "CTA Announces 2021 Smart Home Division Mark of Excellence Award Winners," CE Pro. “Energy Efficiency Product of the Year” - Logical Buildings, GridRewards.

08 January: "New Jersey Approves PSE&G's $778 Smart Meter Rollout," Greentech Media. Approval comes with regulator demand for energy data sharing.

31 December: "Top 10 Utility Regulation Trends of 2020," Greentech Media. #10 [Energy] Data Platforms Take Shape.

16 December: "Energy Department Announces $45 Million in Funding for Solar Technologies," U.S. Department of Energy post.

16 December: "Op-Ed: Smart Energy is Smart Policy," NJ Spotlight News.

14 December: "S&P Global Platts Names ENGIE 'Energy Company of the Year'," ENGIE Resources blog post.

07 December: "Companies Announce New Residential VPP for California," Power Magazine, OhmConnect.

03 December: "Fort Collins Utilities Launches MyData, Powered By UtilityAPI," UtilityAPI blog post.

02 December: "PUC Approves CUBs Petition for Open Data Access Standards," Minnesota Citizens Utility Board (CUB) blog post.

10 November: "Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Startup Spotlight: Virimodo," Alabama NewsCenter, Virimodo.

27 October: "London Hydro Builds on Past Success to Launch New Pilot," London Hydro Press Release.

09 September: "EnerWisely Confirms Energy Star Partnership for Energy Efficiency," EnerWisely press release.

Energy Data-Access Initiatives’ Progress, Support Climate Goals

Exciting energy data-access initiatives, as part of grid modernization efforts, continue to move forward in the United States. Innovative plans are also increasingly taking distributed energy resources (DERs) and renewable energy into account in support of grid resiliency and broader state climate goals. Stakeholder knowledge and participation in workgroups, and their resulting recommendations, are often the forebearer of future-forward policies.

District of Columbia

On 8 June 2020, the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia (PSCDC) announced (pdf) the approval of the next set of grid modernization recommendations for the District of Columbia stemming from its PowerPath DC stakeholder process. The recommendations include enhancing energy data access for all residential customers through Exelon subsidiary Potomac Electric Power Company’s (Pepco's) Green Button Connect My Data platform. The order, PowerPath DC (Case No. 1130, Order No. 20364) (pdf) helps to align the PowerPath DC grid modernization vision with Washington D.C.'s goal of 100% renewable energy by 2032.

State of New York

In March 2020, the New York State Department of Public Service (NYDPS) announced (pdf) a proceeding to expand the strategic access to, and use of, energy-related data in order to meet the state’s clean energy goals. In addition, access to system and customer energy-usage data is key to New York's Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) energy strategy, which is guiding the state toward a cleaner and more-resilient electricity system. On 29 May, 2020, NYDPS staff published two whitepapers on the strategic use of energy-related data. The first paper, regarding the development of a Data Access Framework (pdf), defines the process for access to energy-related data; recognizes customers’ right-to-consent to share their energy-usage data; and standardizes the necessary privacy, cybersecurity, and quality requirements for data access. The second paper, regarding the creation of an Integrated Energy Data Resource (pdf), proposes a statewide, centralized platform for access to customer and system data. Stakeholders are providing comments for consideration by the NYDPS. If adopted by the Commission, the Data Access Framework would guide the requirements and process for access to energy-related data in New York.

U.S. Congress

In February 2020, H.R. 5796, the “Access to Consumer Energy Information Act” or “E-Access Act”, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The E-Access Act enhances consumer access to electric-energy and natural-gas information to allow for the adoption of innovative products and services to help consumers manage their energy usage. In June 2020, the E-Access bill was included as part of a 9-bill Climate Crisis Action plan, released as a staff report, that would assist in guiding the U.S. toward net-zero carbon pollution by 2050.

State of Illinois

In August 2020, Illinois’ “Putting Consumers & Climate First” (pdf) energy policy proposal outlined eight principles in support of moving the state toward a clean and renewable energy economy. Expanded access to energy data for customers and customer energy-management partners to enable customers to more easily and effectively manage their energy consumption is called for within the policy proposal. Working groups consisting of Illinois energy stakeholders are expected to reconvene.

To read more about these and other data access initiatives, please hover over the “Happenings” menu item on the Green Button Alliance website for a list of links to more information.

19 August: "RE100 Leadership Awards Shortlist: Companies Going Above and Beyond on Clean Energy," The Climate Group post. ENGIE a headline partner.

19 August: "OhmConnect Paid Users Over $300,000 to Respond to CAISO's Flex Alert in California," OhmConnect press release.

06 August: "Study: Home Energy Ratings in Real Estate Listings Would Steer Buyers to Efficient Choices," ACEEE press release.

23 July: "Canada Invests in Smart Grid Technologies for London Net-Zero Energy Community," Natural Resources Canada press release. Investment in London Hydro.

22 July: "New Yorkers Who Cut Power Use During HeatWave Get ConEd Payout," Bloomberg. Logical Buildings.

22 July: "PUC Advances CUB Framework to Enable Energy Data to Be Used in Public Interest," Citizens Utility Board (CUB) Minnesota post.

10 June: "Washington DC Grid Modernisation Programme Approved," Smart Energy International. Green Button Connect My Data.

09 June: "DC to Investigate Distributed Resource Ownership Issues as Part of Grid Modernization Effort," UtilityDive. Green Button Connect My Data.

2020-01-06: Corrected for Staffing changes at Logical Buildings.

The Green Button Alliance has concluded its fourth annual Board of Directors election, by the GBA's Participating Membership, and is pleased to announce the addition of two new board members:

Mark Gilbreth, Chief Technology Officer, Agave Systems will serve in the two-year seat and Bill Pfister, Senior Director of Business Analytics, Edison Electric Institute will remain on the board and serve in a second one-year seat.  The GBA welcomes these candidates who will join GBA’s existing Board of Directors on 01 January 2020!

29 January 2019: "ComEd's Smart Grid Starts to Pay Dividends in Northern Illinois", T&D World.

15 January 2019: "Software Solutions Help Installers Sell More Solar + Storage," Solar Power World. EnergyToolbase featured.

14 January 2019: "Energy Data Portability," Report by Mission:data Coalition; Green Button Connect My Data growth featured.

11 January 2019: "Con Edison Unveils Unique Residential Smart Energy Pilot," Smart Energy International.

10 January 2019: "Can Private Industry Solve Our Climate Crisis Where Governments Fail?", Forbes. OhmConnect featured.

07 January 2019: "ZOME Wins Best of Show, Launches New Products," ZOME press release.

01 January 2019: "Growing a Sustainable Food System: How Entrepreneurs Are Applying Advanced Technologies to Reinvent Our Approach to Food Security and Sustainability", Village Capital. Wexus Technologies featured.

05 September 2019: "CHEC and CustomerFirst Sign Advocacy Partnership Agreement", CustomerFirst news.