Policy Watch | Unlocking the Data: GB Standards Enable Efficient, Secure Energy Data Platforms

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 – Last week, 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. Read the "Energy for Generations" plan.