EnergyCAP Joins Mission:data Coalition to Promote “Data-Driven Energy Savings”

EnergyCAP, LLC (ENC) has joined Mission:data in support of the organization’s advocacy for “customer-friendly energy data access” across the United States.

ENC’s mission is to help organizations derive value from their energy and utility bill data using technology-based solutions. In pursuit of that mission, we experience firsthand the challenges of obtaining energy data in a usable format from many utility vendors. It’s logical, then, that ENC joins other innovative energy and technology organizations to promote Mission:data’s core principles:

• All consumers should have easy access to the best available information about their energy use (including both “backhaul” information through the utility website and real-time information directly from smart meters) and the ability to easily share that data with energy management service providers of their choice.
• Energy consumption and pricing information should be provided in the best available format to support innovative new services (including machine-readable formats that are consistent nationwide and consistent with the best industry standards).

Mission:data’s leadership notes that the most exciting new energy management technologies often depend upon customers having access to their energy data—consumption and pricing information—as essential ingredients. Billions of dollars have been spent in the United States on smart meters designed to enable energy savings in homes and businesses, where over 40% of our nation’s energy is used. Unfortunately, most customer benefits of these meters won’t be realized until consumers have easy, functional access to their own energy data.

Smart meters collect energy data today, but rarely do utilities deliver the data to consumers in a useful format. Standard formats and protocols for exchanging energy data are available and in use in only a handful of states, and the lack of widespread implementation costs consumers important opportunities to save energy and money.

Due to Mission:data’s advocacy, there are over 36 million electric meters nationwide under a mandate to provide data accessibility using the Green Button Connect standard. We encourage organizations across the country to join the Mission:data Coalition and take an active role in expanding energy data access rules and establishing formatting standards.