Cortexo

Consumer access to Smart meter data right on!

Posted by Terry Paddy on 7 July 2011 | 0 Comments

Tags: smart meters, consumers

Energy News reported yesterday that the New Zealand Electricity Authority has annoyed electricity retailers and distributors by saying "consumers [will be able] to nominate whether the retailer or the distributor appoints the metering equipment provider. They would also give consumers the right to free access to metering data for the purpose of bill verification" [read the full article here]

The response has been a claim that its a "problem that doesn't exist" and that "there is no monopoly to be wary of". The best quote to me is "there are no competition or access concerns that create grounds for regulation."

Although my interest is in consumer right to data (as opposed to selection of meter provider) this appears to me to be the standard utility problem of being self focused and not consumer focused, and a wee bit of territory protection thrown in. Our premise here at Cortexo is that the data is owned by the consumer and they have a right to see the results of what is being metered and given the general lack of consumer trust with any and all utilities, the ability to understand usage and compare with billing will give consumers a sense of control. The more granular that information the better, so until we get smart appliances in the shops (wait for an announcement from Fisher & Paykel and Cortexo soon!) or smart plugs in the Warehouse the best we have right now, without having to buy something extra, is meter data and at leat advanced meters give us more granular half hour data.

The easier it is to access meter data the more innovative services that will appear for consumers via third party providers like us here at Cortexo. So we have definate access concerns, the AMI companies think this is their area, but broadband based services will provide far more innovation and value for the whole of the electricity suply chain not just the consumer, so costs can be shared and even be potentially free (or close to it) for consumers.

Of course these third party services might actually highlight to consumers the choice they have and ability to decide who will get their hard earned dollars, as well as how they can take control and save. This might not quite be what utilities want and so what better way to close this down than keep meter data inside the monithic silos of the utilities. So do we have access concerns, you bet!

So for me, the Electricity Authority consultation paper hit the nail on the head, I'm all for it, bring on consumer access to meter data.