Newsletter | August 2025

Unlocking the Data: Green Button Standards Enable Efficient, Secure Energy Data Access Platforms

As regulators, utilities and stakeholders work together to enable a modern and reliable grid that benefits all customer groups, easy, secure access to comprehensive, standardized energy data is critical for efficient energy data platforms; public engagement; informed decision-making; smart buildings; new VPP/DR programs and energy data -driven services. Energy data access initiatives that are leveraging or considering the industry's Green Button Connect Energy Data Access and Secure Sharing standard are progressing in several states including in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, North Carolina, and in Ontario, Canada.

New York – The Integrated Energy Data Resource (IEDR) is New York's centralized, statewide energy-data platform that securely collects, and provides access to, energy-related data and information from New York's electric, gas, and steam utilities – and other sources – to support innovation and the state's clean energy goals. Phase I of the IEDR was completed in March 2024. Phase II is currently underway with the IEDR project team including GBA Member UtilityAPI, and the state's participating utilities including GBA Member Con Edison, continuing to build upon the platform's achievements to date.

The IEDR currently includes an Electric Infrastructure Assessment Tool (EIAT) – an interactive map of New York's installed and queued DERs, and hosting capacity to help plan and site DERs; a Rate Plan Browser; and a Green Button Connect (GBC) Tool to enable third-party Energy Service Entities (ESEs) to digitally request customer authorization to access customer utility data from all of New York's investor-owned utilities to assist in the scoping, deploying, and monitoring of clean energy projects. The GBC Tool is currently in a 'sandbox' environment to allow users to explore functionality, but with mock data sets. The IEDR's production-level Green Button Connect Tool will enable utility customers to choose to securely share their actual customer data with customer-authorized third-party energy companies. The GBC Tool is now accepting registrations from ESEs.

In Phase II, the IEDR project team and utilities continue to collaborate to support customer access to information through the IEDR platform. Current and anticipated activities related to the Green Button Tool include utilities working toward data transfers to the IEDR; Single Sign-On (SSO) functionality; preparing for Green Button Connect Certification, and enhancements regarding the efficiency and consistency of data transfer pipelines, and more. The teams are also collaborating on the process necessary for the Rate Plan Data use case, and on determining additional future use cases.

Phase II of the IEDR aims to be completed between October 1, 2026 and April 1, 2027. For additional information and updates see NYSDPS case number 20-M-0082, NYSERDA's IEDR program page, and YouTube play list.

Massachusetts – "An Act Promoting a Clean Energy Grid, Advancing Equity and Protecting Ratepayers" was signed into law in November, 2024. The Act requires the electric distribution companies (EDCs) deploying AMI infrastructure to, among other things, (1) jointly establish a Centralized Data Repository, in a cost-effective manner as approved by the Department of Public Utilities (D.P.U.), to allow customers and third parties, including competitive suppliers, to access AMI data including billing, interval usage and load data, in near-real time subject to customer approval and protections (Sections 79, 127); and (2) submit a plan for implementation of AMI data access by February 18, 2026 (Section 128) for D.P.U. approval.

Also in Massachusetts, regarding Docket 21-80, 21-81, 21-82, which previously approved grid modernization plans for NSTAR Electric Company (Eversource); Massachusetts Electric Company and Nantucket Electric Company (National Grid); and Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company (Unitil), the D.P.U. is in process of holding AMI Stakeholder Working Groups and technical sessions regarding AMI deployment, the Centralized Data Repository, Green Button Connect functionality, ISO-NE load settlement capabilities, and more.

Virginia – In May, Virginia passed SB1100, an Act which directs Phase II utilities such as Dominion Energy Virginia, to petition the Commission by December 1, 2025, for approval to conduct Virtual Power Plant programs. The Act notes aggregators shall be given nondiscriminatory access to necessary customer and grid data from the utility to participate in the pilot program.

North Carolina – This month, on July 16th, the North Carolina Utilities Commission issued an order in Docket E-100, Sub 161 adopting revisions to Commission Rule R8-51. Duke Energy Carolinas (DEC) and Duke Energy Progress (DEP) will expedite the process to provide customer data to requesting third parties. DEC and DEP will include an evaluation, to the Commission, of updates to the NAESB REQ.21 standard (known as Green Button) during their bi-annual review and pursue upgrades to their Data Sharing Functionality that are beneficial for customers, ensuring that the associated costs required to implement any identified upgrades are reasonable and prudent. The utility must implement a electronic machine-readable data format within 18 months of this order.

Ontario – In June, the government released its first integrated energy plan "Energy for Generations". The plan brings together electricity, natural gas, hydrogen and other energy sources under a single coordinated strategy, providing a roadmap to meet the province's future energy needs. Within the plan for an affordable, reliable, secure and clean energy system, Ontario remains committed to energy efficiency and empowering people with choices. Ontario's electricity and natural gas utilities now provide Green Button to their residential and commercial customers giving them secure and private access to their energy usage data. Green Button enables the province's utility customers to make informed energy management decisions, participate in new energy-savings programs, and unlocks new opportunities for efficiency.

Jotson is on a mission to help Canadians take control of their energy. The Jotson mobile app has been registered with all 56 utilities in Ontario that have Green Button Certified℠ Connect My Data® (CMD) platforms, providing consumers a complete view of electricity and natural gas consumption, cost, and carbon emissions.

With Jotson, users can break down their total energy use by source, monitor trends over time, and make better-informed decisions about rate plans, home upgrades, and more. Jotson also helps decode complex utility bills, so users know exactly where their money is going.

Putting Green Button Data to Work in Ontario

Ontario's Green Button initiative made it possible for residents to easily access their Green Button standardized utility data and authorize to securely share it with third-party apps and services for further analysis. The Jotson app translates 40+ data points from electricity and natural gas bills into visual charts that are easy for homeowners to understand and act on.

"Green Button gives people secure utility data access and sharing. Jotson gives them clarity," says Mark Little, Founder and CEO, Jotson. "We help users see the full picture of how they're using energy so they can take action."

With Jotson, homeowners in Ontario can:

• Track electricity and natural gas use by cost, consumption, and carbon
• See monthly and annual energy trends
• Invite household members to improve overall energy awareness
• Consider alternative choices and make more informed decisions

Bringing Energy Transparency to Canadian Businesses

Jotson's planned offering for businesses is equally ambitious. Through pilot programs in Ontario and Alberta, Jotson will help commercial users consolidate fragmented energy data across multiple locations, automate Scope 1 and 2 emissions reporting, and find opportunities to reduce costs.

For sustainability teams and operations leads, Jotson will make it easier to:

• Benchmark energy performance across sites
• Track cost and carbon trends over time
• Optimize contracts with data-backed insights
• Meet compliance reporting requirements with less admin work

A Data-Driven Future for Canadian Energy Users

From helping a homeowner save on energy to enabling a multi-location business to improve their energy efficiency and automate emissions reporting, Jotson is changing how Canadians understand and manage energy.

"We believe energy facts should be accessible, relevant, and actionable," Mark says. "This fantastic partnership with Green Button helps us deliver on that promise."

The Jotson app is available on the App Store and Google Play.

Learn more about how Jotson is bringing energy data to life at jotson.com and follow Jotson on LinkedIn.

GBA is not responsible for Terms & Conditions of any app or service provided by GBA Member companies or nonmember companies.

New Green Button AI ChatBot, Powered by POWERCONNECT.AI, Now Available on GBA Website

Have a Green Button question? Need to find accurate information quickly? The GBA's new Green Button AI ChatBot – powered by POWERCONNECT.AI, a company of BHC Global; a GBA Sponsor Member company – is an AI-powered, digital assistant tool that provides instant, accurate responses to user queries in real-time, enhancing the user's knowledge and site experience. The Green Button ChatBot digital assistant is now available on the GBA's website. Try it out today!

Utilities interested in transforming the customer and agent experience across the utility industry, reducing wait times, and lowering services costs through revolutionary automation, contact GBA Member BHC Global.

GBA's 10th Anniversary AGM Featured the GBA's Utility Data Experts and Key Market Insights

The Green Button Alliance’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on March 25, 2025 during DISTRIBUTECH in Dallas, Texas. The 10th Anniversary AGM featured the GBA’s Expert Speakers and board members who educated on: ground-breaking utility data-access initiatives that are today leveraging the industry’s open, Green Button Connect standard; Green Button market expansion; first-hand insights from the leading, highly-successful energy data -enabled VPP and DR programs; key next generation and AI-enhanced use cases, and new market research and findings. Several GBA experts provided a look into the energy data-access -enabled future and what is driving it today.

The GBA presented Con Edison with the GBA Chairman’s Award for "Green Button Certification and IEDR Leadership".

Itron was presented with the GBA Chairman's Award for "Green Button Data Access Innovation and Leadership on the GBA’s Board of Directors".

For this anniversary AGM, the GBA recognized London Hydro with the GBA 10-Year Award for "10 Years of Green Button Innovation and Leadership".

The GBA congratulates its members and thanks them for their on-going vision and industry leadership! If you missed the 2025 Annual General Meeting, see the recording.

David A. Wollman, Deputy Division Chief, Smart Connected Systems Division of the Communication Technology Laboratory, NIST, and an original, founding Green Button Alliance Board Member – having served on the GBA's Board of Directors since its inception in 2015 – took (early) retirement from NIST at the end of April.

During his distinguished federal career, Dr. Wollman led many key programs and was recognized with several awards including two U.S. Dept. of Commerce Gold Medal awards. He also received a Silver Medal award along with colleagues Martin J. Burns and John A. Teeter (neither pictured) for Leadership on the White House's Green Button initiative. Working closely with industry and other agencies, the team led the development of the technology foundation for Green Button, including standards, testing, and technical support for implementers. Dr. Wollman also holds three U.S. patents.

The GBA commends him for his many technical and industry achievements to-date and thanks him for his years of leadership on the GBA Board of Directors. Dr. Wollman was granted Lifetime Membership in the GBA.

Flexible Green Button Standards Support Multiple Resources

The North American Energy Standards Board's (NAESB) Energy Services Provider Interface (ESPI) REQ.21 standard – the core of the Green Button standards – is the industry's open utility-data standard, designed to provide secure access to standardized customer utility data for electricity, natural gas, and all types of water usage (potable, gray/reclaimed, and waste/sewage). But, did you know that the powerful, flexible Green Button framework was specifically designed to be extensible to support multiple resource data types – all as separate resource/commodity types in the Green Button format?

The Green Button standard can represent the following utility resource types today:

– Electricity (primary metered, secondary metered, transmission "metered")

– Natural Gas

– Water (potable; gray; irrigation; non-potable; waste water/sewer)

– Steam

– Propane

– Heating / Cooling Fluid

– Measurements including Insulative Gas and Oil

Extensible Utility Data Standard

In addition to standardizing electricity, natural gas, and water -usage data, the Green Button utility-data standards can be extended to standardize a wide range of additional data types and measurements – including numerous, key environmental measurements:

– Carbon & Carbon Dioxide

– Hexachlorocyclohexane

– Methane

– Nitrous Oxides

– Perfluorocarbons

– Sulfur Dioxide & Sulfurhexafluoride

Data Integration from Non-Utility Sources, Support for DERs

The open Green Button standards can also integrate data from non-utility sources, such as from solar arrays, community wind farms, or other distributed energy resources (DERs). It can also represent aggregated data from multiple meters and building tenants in a single, standardized Green Button data file or stream. The extensible design of the Green Button standards ensures they can adapt to meet future energy-data needs, supporting residential, commercial, and industrial customers; plus, utility services and DERs to enable secure and efficient energy management, resource use, and decarbonization.

The Green Button Alliance-hosted OpenADE Task Force technical committee works to determine and develop, by consensus, the next Green Button data resource/measurement types and innovation. The committee is currently considering including additional commodity/resources such as Hydrogen, Petrol/Gasoline, and Diesel, as well as greenhouse gas information – including energy-source provenance. The OpenADE committee meets monthly, online, and is open to anyone in the industry to participate at no cost.

For the full list of resources, commodities, and measurements the Green Button standards can represent, see the GBA's FAQs.

For Utility and Third Party app developers, the GBA has new Developer Resources available including a Usage Point for Aggregated Data page and a Utility-Bill Data Mapping page.

The North American Energy Standards Board's (NAESB) REQ.21 ESPI, the standard commonly known as Green Button, is the international energy and water data-access and -sharing standard. From it's inception, the standard has supported Aggregated Data Sharing. To assist developers with standards-based Aggregated Data Sharing, the new Usage Point for Aggregated Data page provides a step-by-step overview, with XML examples, of two key XML elements in the ESPI schema's Usage Point type.

The new Utility-Bill Data Mapping page provides a step-by-step guide on how to map a Utility Bill to the Green Button Usage Summary XML format of the ESPI Usage/File Stream in order to summarize energy usage, in a standardized format, for a billing period. 

GBA All-Member Meeting

The GBA’s All-Member Meetings are held online every 6 weeks on Thursdays, from 2:00 - 2:50pm ET / 11:00 - 11:50am PT. The next GBA All-Member Meeting will be held this week: on Thursday, July 31, 2025 at 2:00pm ET / 11am PT.

For a full listing of GBA meetings, please see GBA’s Meetings and Events page.

OpenADE Task Force Meeting

The Green Button Alliance hosts the OpenADE Task Force technical committee meeting, which is held online and is open to the industry for participation.

The next OpenADE Task Force Meeting will be held Wednesday, August 13, 2025 at 3:00pm ET / 12:00 noon PT.

See https://openade.org for logistics.