H.R. 7741 — E-Access Act

This section establishes definitions for purposes of the Act, including (1) Commission (i.e., Federal Energy Regulatory Commission); (2) electric consumer and electric utility (as defined in the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978); (3) gas consumer and gas utility (as defined in 15 U.S.C. 3202); (4) Green Button Connect My Data (i.e., standard for secure transmission of retail electric and natural gas consumer data); (5) grid edge computer (i.e., device measuring electric energy at or near consumer premises and capable of running software applications); (6) grid edge consumer insight (i.e., measurements or inferences about individual electric consumer energy use); and (7) retail electric energy information and retail natural gas information (i.e., usage data, prices, billing costs, and customer-specific details necessary for energy programs or wholesale markets).

This section amends state energy conservation plan requirements under sec. 362(d) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6322(d)) by adding a new para. (18) for programs promoting competition in digital energy management tools that (1) enhance consumer access to and understanding of residential and commercial retail electric energy information (as defined in sec. 2 of the E-Access Act) and retail natural gas information, (2) facilitate development and adoption of innovative products and services to manage energy consumption and expenditures, and (3) increase adoption of measured, performance-based energy efficiency and demand response programs. (As background, sec. 362(d) specifies activities eligible for funding through DOE formula grants to states for energy conservation plans.) It further directs the Secretary of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to jointly develop and issue, not later than 180 days after enactment of this Act and after consulting specified stakeholders (including state regulators, utilities, consumer advocates, and others) with notice and comment, guidelines establishing model data sharing standards and policies for states to provide electric consumers, gas consumers, and their third-party designees access to such retail information—including requirements for electronic machine-readable format with at least 24 months of historical and near real-time data, nationally recognized open standards, consumer consent procedures, utility communications to customer devices, and privacy protections.