October 2021
Meet Our New Members!
News & Updates
Ontario Passes Regulation that Empowers Energy Users with Green Button Digital Energy Data Access and Sharing Solutions
In Ontario, Canada, the government has passed Ontario Regulation 633/21: Energy Data, filing the regulation on 02 September. Ontario’s new energy data regulation will go into effect on 01 November 2021 and requires electric and natural gas utilities across the province to implement Green Button Connect My Data (CMD) and Download My Data (DMD) energy data access and sharing solutions that adhere to the North American Energy Standards Board’s (NAESB) REQ.21 Energy Services Provider Interface (ESPI) version 3.3 standard, commonly known as the Green Button, by 01 November 2023. Read the GBA's announcement.
Removing the barriers to energy data access, the Ontario utilities’ Green Button Connect My Data platforms will enable customers to digitally access their standardized energy data and choose to securely share their data with authorized third-parties and applications. Green Button solutions will empower Ontarians with detailed knowledge of their energy-usage patterns and will support energy-efficiency, cost-savings, deployment of clean energy solutions, and decarbonization in the province. Utilites can leverage Green Button CMD solutions to offer a variety of new energy data-enabled applications and services to their customers, as well as increase customer participation in programs such as Demand Response.
To ensure critical benefits of the Green Button standard are gained—including customer-data privacy and seamless data interoperability and scalability—the utility-provided Green Button implementations are required to be tested and certified by the Green Button Alliance as compliant to the standards. The GBA recommends utilities purchase the latest version of the standard from NAESB, prior to solution testing by the GBA. GBA testing and Certification assures utilities:

  • the standard is implemented correctly;
  • the solution will provide data in an interoperable format;
  • the solution will protect customer data privacy through secure transmission of data;
  • they can speed application on-boarding and deployment of scalable data-sharing implementations.

Ontario’s Green Button regulation will apply to approximately 60 electric and natural gas utilities provincewide. In support the province’s electricity and natural gas sectors, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) led a series of Green Button implementation task force meetings comprised of stakeholders, including members of the GBA, and is developing Green Button implementation guidance based on the task force’s recommendations.

The GBA commends the Ontario government, Ministry of Energy and the OEB for their leadership in unlocking customer energy data and making it secure and transferrable for Ontarians.

Follow current data-access proceedings by hovering over the "Happenings" tab on the Green Button Alliance's web site.
You're Invited!


04 November 2021
1:00 - 3:00pm EDT (Virtual)

The Green Button Alliance's 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held online on Thursday, 04 November, from 1:00-3:00pm (EDT). Digital utilities, energy-efficiency innovators, regulators, governmental agencies, and industry organizations are invited to attend online to learn the latest about industry's Green Button Energy Data-Access and Secure Data-Sharing Standard, industry developments, innovative solutions, and the path forward.

  • Open to the Industry
  • Keynote Speakers
  • Energy Data Access Policies & Industry Developments
  • Green Button Implementations & Customer Successes featured
  • Green Button Look-Ahead
  • Leadership Awards

GBA members and non-members are invited to Register to attend the GBA's 2021 Annual General Meeting which will be held online on Thursday, 04 November 2021 from 1:00-3:00pm (EDT):
Member Spotlight
GBA member Brilliency easily connects electric, gas, and water utilities with their customers to streamline communications and transactions. Brilliency serves municipal and regional utilities, and utility customers worldwide. The Brilliency platform-as-a-service mobile and web apps help utilities with comprehensive analytics, demand-side management and customer engagement tools for small business and residential customers. For utility customers, Brilliency’s gamified app is a single, engaging place to track, gain dynamic insights, and optimize usage of electricity, gas and water.
Connecting Utilities to Customers
The Brilliency customer engagement and online portal enhances utilities’ existing customer management systems and payment portals by enabling utilities to streamline costs across service, efficiency, and consumption reporting; build relationships that drive enrollment in efficiency and demand response programs; and gather data and analytics to understand performance indicators. The platform can be customized for each utility and works with smart-meter data and historical data, including standardized Green Button energy consumption data. If the utility is new to mobile apps and digital assets, Brilliency can serve as the utility’s primary platform.
Brilliency streamlines customer communications and transactions. Interested in knowing if customers have smart thermostats or EVs? Want to assist customers in sending in payments? How about enabling customers to report outages online? Do customers want to know more about their carbon footprint? Like to proactively inform customers about line-maintenance insurance, and make it easy to purchase? Brilliency is the solution.
 
Brilliency is an easy to add, bolt-on service – it enables utilities to connect with customers who have already downloaded the Brilliency mobile app. Once linked to customers with the app, utilities can immediately communicate with customers – including to promote new offerings, receive engagement reports, as well as to receive outage and leak reports and to send outage notifications. Utilities can sign up for a free utility trial account. 
One App to View All Utilities
For small business and residential customers, the Brilliency app enables users to see their electricity, gas, and water in one app. Utilizing energy usage data, including Green Button data, customers can track and optimize their resource consumption and gain dynamic insights on how to save. The intuitive, gamified app makes it easy to report outages, send and receive messages, and find tips tailored for their property.

“Smart, sustainable cities of the future will rely on comprehensive energy data and insights which are required to implement and maintain efficiency programs that benefit people, businesses and the environment,” said Laura Steinbrink, CEO, Brilliency. “The benefits of combining data from multiple utilities is just beginning to become apparent and easy, digital access to standardized, highly accurate Green Button energy consumption data is a key enabler.”
The Brilliency app is free and available now for download for utility customers on the App Store or Google Play. Brilliency is a participating company in the U.S. Department of Energy’s DataGuard Energy Data Privacy Program. Follow Brilliency on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Member News
Utilismart's SmartMAP to Enable Utilities to Visualize DER Assets

GBA member Utilismart, is a leading provider of cloud-based Meter Data Management (MDM) solutions and data services to over 140 utilities, municipalities, commercial and residential customers across Canada and the U.S. Utilismart’s SmartMAP is an MDM-driven utility analytics and outage management solution that creates value from AMI data, and other utility data, in near-real time to provide utilities with advanced grid visibility, performance analysis, outage management, engineering analysis, active and reactive maintenance and network planning capabilities. 
Utilismart announced new functionality for SmartMAP that will enable utilities to visually detect Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and EVs across the distribution system, analyze the impact they make on distribution system assets, and proactively manage distribution transformers to assist in preventing overload as DERs assets increase -- minimizing premature asset failures and associated impacts and costs. SmartMAP features an interactive dashboard, enabling utilities to easily visualize data analytics, gain insights from the grid, assess the impact of decisions, and proactively manage systems. The new features will be available in the second quarter, 2022; sign-up for a free demo. Follow Utilismart on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
London Hydro CEO Recognized as one of Canada's Top Sustainability Leaders

Founded by Delta Management Group in 2011, Canada's prestigious Clean50 Awards and Summit mark the accomplishments of 50 sustainability leaders in 16 categories. The GBA congratulates GBA member Vinay Sharma, CEO, London Hydro who was named to the “Clean50” list as one of Canada’s top sustainability leaders for 2022, as well as was awarded a “Clean16 Honouree” for being the top contributor in the “Traditional Energy & Generation” category.

Under Mr. Sharma's leadership, London Hydro has implemented several innovative programs, technologies, and projects that enable its customers to save energy and money, and support sustainability. These programs, like Green Button, which allows energy consumers to monitor their energy use and make informed decisions about their consumption habits, saved 37,800 MWH between 2019 and 2020 alone. Read further about other sustainability programs London Hydro has implemented under Mr. Sharma's leadership.
In the Headlines
Green Button Alliance Meetings
GBA’s Upcoming Meetings &
2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM)

  • YOU'RE INVITED! The GBA's Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Thursday, 04 November from 1:00pm-3:00pm (EDT). This meeting will be held online and is Open to the Industry. Meeting agenda and logistics will be available soon.

  • The GBA’s next All-Member Call will be held via dial-in and web on Tuesday, 23 November at 11:00am PST / 2:00pm EST. All members are invited to attend. Participation logistics will be emailed to GBA Members.

  • The GBA hosts the OpenADE Task Force technical meetings following the GBA’s monthly All-Member Call. The next one-hour OpenADE Task Force meeting will be held Tuesday, 23 November at 12:00pm PST / 3:00pm EST. Visit https://openade.org for logistics.


For a full listing of GBA meetings and events, please visit GBA's Calendar page or subscribe to our public calendar:
Green Button Alliance
www.greenbuttonalliance.org

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The Green Button Alliance (GBA) is a North Carolina nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation