European Data Act shows how to empower and protect customers and their digital energy data

 

Restricted access to electricity data is leaving consumers in the dark about their consumption and generation habits. This knowledge is essential in making well-informed choices, such as when to use appliances like dishwashers, washing machines, and charging electric vehicles.

More importantly, customers’ inability to access local real-time data from their smart meter is a barrier to reforms such as demand-based tariffs, dynamic operating envelopes, orchestration of devices behind the meter, and other reforms that enable a two-way electricity network.

Access to this data is currently limited by the Metering Coordinator cloud and because of this, there is no mandated timing for the delivery of data and it could even arrive several days later.

Intelligent metering is crucial in ensuring that all consumers benefit from the uptake of rooftop solar, batteries and other distributed energy resources. Current metering arrangements have failed to acknowledge the potential gain and rollout has been far too slow.

Because of these shortfalls, SwitchDin warmly welcomed the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) proposal to set an acceleration target for a universal ‘smart meter’ rollout by 2030. However, unless consumers are allowed access to instantaneous, real-time data from their meter they will struggle to participate in the success of the distributed energy transformation.

At SwitchDin, we believe that consumers should have access to real-time data from their meter. This data belongs to them and understanding their rights to it will give them more control over their energy usage. It will also allow consumers to share data with their authorized representatives, which could promote competition and innovation in the energy industry.

By acknowledging the rights of Australian consumers to access their energy data, they would be granted the same rights as Europeans, which are recognized in the European Data Act of 2023. This European legislation “seeks to ensure that the benefits of the digital revolution are shared by everyone”:

  • Enabling users to access their data and share it with third parties who provide new energy services,

  • Protecting consumers from unfair contractual terms and unlawful data transfers,

  • Giving customers the freedom to switch between service providers, and

  • Introducing standards for interoperability and data sharing.

It should be simple for customers to assign access to their data to authorised agents and service providers. This could create opportunities for new energy services like:

  • Optimising the asset life, performance and compliance of consumers’ assets,

  • Orchestrating electricity consumption, generation and storage behind-the-meter, and

  • Responding to emerging network services like dynamic operating envelopes, cost-reflective tariffs and other reforms to enable a two-way electricity network.

To put it simply, customers are paying for the smart meter, not the retailer. Meaning the customer is the owner of the data and should have open access to it.

Read more of our recommendations in our submission made to the AEMC earlier this year here:

 
 
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