March Newsletter

March 2019

GBA's 2019 Annual General Meeting

The Green Button Alliance's 2019 Annual General Meeting to be held at CS Week

The Green Button Alliance’s Annual General Meeting will gather digital utilities, energy-efficiency innovators, governmental agencies, research institutes, and affiliate organizations interested in learning about the latest on the industry's Green Button energy data-access and secure data-sharing standard. GBA members and non-members are invited to attend the 1-hour face-to-face meeting being held at CS Week in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday, 10 April, from 8:30-9:30am MT (arrive early to meet everyone). Those that are unable to attend in-person may participate remotely. The meeting will address:

Green Button 2018 Accomplishments
Green Button Connect My Data Technical Update
Green Button 2019 & Look Ahead

To learn more about the GBA's Annual General Meeting and to attend in-person, or via dial-in, on Wednesday, 10 April, 2019, RSVP:

RSVP

Green Button News & Updates

Green Button Connect My Data Forward Movement Continues

In the U.S., regulators, utilities, innovators and industry stakeholders continue to participate in information-sharing sessions in order to discuss best practices for providing utility customers with easy, digital access to their own energy data and the ability to authorize the secure sharing of their data for additional analysis via Green Button Connect My Data : the industry’s proven data-access and secure-data-sharing protocol.

26 March: The New York Department of Public Service (NY DPS) held it's second session in the on-going Green Button Connect (GBC) Working Group series. Energy data access and data security agreements for DERs were among the topics covered.

05 March: The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) held a Data Accessibility Stakeholder Forum at which utility DTE Energy noted it will offer its customers certified Green Button Download My Data functionality and the ability to set-up on-going sharing of data with others they trust beginning 01 June 2019. The utility Consumers Energy noted its Green Button Connect offering is already in development and will be made available to customers in September 2019. The Green Button Alliance and others also participated in the meeting.

12 February: New Hampshire PUC staff, via a report on grid modernization, concurred with a working group that the use of standards and protocols including Green Button Connect My Data for data sharing can facilitate interoperability, empower third parties, and provide the opportunity for customers to reduce their costs.

The Green Button Alliance will provide a Green Button Connect My Data market adoption update during it's Annual General Meeting on 10 April at the CS Week Conference. GBA members and non-members can RSVP to attend in-person or participate remotely.

Energy Toolbase Integrates Stem’s AI Storage Platform and Experience

GBA member Energy Toolbase announced its platform now includes Stem, Inc., the world leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven energy storage services. This addition gives solar and storage project developers who use Energy Toolbase the opportunity to design and deploy solutions based on Stem’s energy storage controls. Distributed energy providers can now simulate project performance, analyze financial returns, and develop sales proposals informed by Stem’s Athena AI platform and rich operating experience.

Member Spotlight

Winner of the 2018 Acterra Business Environmental Award, OhmConnect is a free service available to households and businesses in California (PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E service areas) and Ontario, Canada (Toronto Hydro service area) that rewards saving energy at times when the electric grid is stressed.

Participants in the program receive text or email notifications when energy demand on the grid is high (periods of time we refer to as #OhmHours) and if they can use less energy than they’re forecasted to use, they get paid.

While customers can connect a variety of smart devices to the OhmConnect platform and thereby automate their participation in #OhmHours, purchasing hardware is not necessary for a rewarding customer experience.

“Technologies like rooftop solar and electric vehicles can save families money in the long term while helping the environment,” says John Anderson, OhmConnect’s Director of Energy Markets. “However, the high up-front costs of these technologies make them inaccessible to many households. At OhmConnect, we’re proud that we can offer a service that is free and accessible to virtually all households, regardless of income. Indeed, data from the California utilities shows that lower-income households make up more than one third of OhmConnect’s customer base. The rewards earned from participating in #OhmHours can make a real difference in these families’ day-to-day lives.”

How Green Button helps OhmConnect thrive

As a homeowner, renter, or small business owner Californians and Ontarians can access their data through the Green Button Connect program. ‍But even better than being able to see your home’s energy usage data, is to use it to your advantage.

Green Button Connect My Data allows utility customers to automate the secure transfer of their energy usage data to authorized third parties, based on affirmative (opt-in) customer consent and control, giving peace of mind to new registrants.

Looking forward

Summer is OhmConnect’s busiest time of year. Demand on the grid is highest when the mercury rises (and households across California and Ontario are blasting their air conditioning units), meaning participants can earn hundreds of dollars for the energy they don’t use and major strides can be made towards keeping the grid functioning as it should .

OhmConnect is excited about what the future has in store for our energy needs. Senate Bill (SB) 100 set some lofty goals to be 100 percent zero-carbon energy in California by 2045. Transitioning buildings and homes to be fully electrified, making maximum use of renewables, and having flexible energy use is a path that sets us towards that sustainable and sunny future.

Green Button Alliance Meetings

GBA's Upcoming All-Member Meetings

The GBA hosts the OpenADE Task Force technical meetings every Tuesday at 3:00pm ET, both GBA members and non-members are invited to attend. Visit the GBA's online calendar for logistics.

The GBA's monthly Green Button Global Marketing Meetings occur the first Wednesday of the month at 3:00pm ET. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, 03 April. All GBA members are invited to attend this 30-minute meeting. Participation logistics will be emailed—or login to download the information.

The GBA's 2019 Annual General Meeting will be held on 10 April at 8:30-9:30am MST at the CS Week conference in Phoenix, Arizona. GBA members and nonmembers are invited to join either in person or remotely. To attend the meeting, please RSVP.