Well-defined consumer data rights are key to a faster energy transition
In my opinion, there is something holding back global energy transition, which hasn’t yet sparked the attention and debate it deserves — who should own the rights to access and use people’s energy consumption data? Should it be the energy providers or the people like you and I, who are the actual consumers?
One could ask, who cares, but trust me, the answer to this question is what makes all the difference. The one who owns the right to use the data has the power to decide who uses it, who creates solutions through using it, and who stops others from doing it. I will take you through two examples:
1. It was recently revealed that the Australian power network operator, Vector, sold access to the data about the private life patterns of 1.6 million people to Amazon. While in Australia this was considered to be business as usual — one major service provider sharing information with another one, in Europe, it is seen as a serious violation. A deal of this sort would have required an explicit opt-in go-ahead from all the consumers/meter owners affected.
2. Different grid operators in Europe recently founded an initiative called The Data Bridge Alliance, in order to simplify access to energy consumption data. Companies such as WePower are invited to join the project so that we can create innovative solutions that help speed up the energy transition process. Collaboration of this scale is only possible thanks to Europe being GDPR regulated, and the end-users owning the rights to their data. People can then decide which solutions they give a green light to and which ones they don’t.
I remember the early debates among European networking operators as to whether the energy consumption data is private or not, and if they should be allowed to earn profits from using the data.
After the implementation of smart meters, the energy companies suddenly had piles of big data sitting on their lap and very little knowledge of how to work with it.
Luckily, the debates that took place later, led to a common understanding that even if we remove the person’s name and other specific data, the energy consumption patterns still leave behind a lot of private information, therefore it should always be treated with the utmost caution.
Nothing drives innovation better than a free market where consumer choice comes first. Energy transition requires a Smart Grid and a Smart Grid needs data sources and new innovative software solutions to work with both the energy grids and the energy markets. Unfortunately, it is still the rule rather than the exception, that the data from smart meters does not receive any meaningful analysis. We are spending tremendous amounts of money on new wind and solar farms, while our systems are not getting any smarter. The required investment in data access solutions is smaller than anyone would imagine and well within our means. Technological knowledge and models are already there and so is the talent.
We could get more from our investments in green energy if we paid more attention to data.
Prior to co-founding WePower, I served as CTO of Estonia’s largest network operator, Elektrilevi. Estonia has developed one of the world’s most advanced digital societies where each citizen owns their data and can check which institution has viewed it and for what purpose. We treat energy consumption data the same way. Consumers own their data, not private companies regardless of their size and influence. Private data about you belongs to you, and if a service provider approaches you and asks for permission to access your data, you, the consumer, should be able to give and refuse access to your data in an efficient and meaningful way. It’s as easy as that.
To sum up, in democratic free-market countries, consumers must own their private data and private companies must not be able to profit from that data without explicit permission. This gives value to the customer. The customers decide how valuable or insignificant their private data is. At WePower, we are focusing on the sectors and markets where the data is the most accessible. We know by experience the impact it has bringing new solutions to the market. We continue to work closely with our partners in Europe, Elering, and the Data Bridge Alliance, to bring awareness to the critical nature of data in energy transition.
In the coming months, we will be expanding the topic further and recommending steps for moving forward. Follow the WePower blog for updates.
