I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5696 
To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to provide 
electric consumers the right to access certain electric energy information. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 1, 2010 
Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts (for himself, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. POLIS of Colo-
rado, Mr. INSLEE, and Ms. DEGETTE) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 
to provide electric consumers the right to access certain 
electric energy information. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Electric Consumer 
Right to Know Act’’ or the ‘‘e–KNOW Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) According to the Energy Information Ad-
ministration, United States consumers spent over 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
01:39 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5696.IH
H5696
pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
$360,000,000,000 each year on electricity as of 
2008 and an estimated 250 gigawatts of new gener-
ating capacity will need to be added in the United 
States over the next 25 years to maintain grid integ-
rity in the face of increasing electricity demand. 
(2) Recent studies demonstrate that consumers 
change their energy consumption behavior in re-
sponse to feedback regarding prices and patterns of 
use and that improved access to usage and price in-
formation can result in dramatic reductions in elec-
tricity demand and billions of dollars in cost savings. 
(3) Across the United States, utilities are de-
ploying millions of ‘‘smart’’ electricity meters, which 
record more detailed electricity usage information 
than conventional meters and in most cases have the 
capacity to communicate such information to utility 
or on-site networks, as a means of improving the ef-
ficiency and reliability of the electric grid. 
(4) The full benefit of ‘‘smart’’ meters will be 
realized only if the consumers served by such meters 
have secure access to the enhanced information re-
corded by such meters, on a near real-time basis 
wherever feasible. 
(5) Whether a consumer is served by a ‘‘smart’’ 
meter or a conventional meter, secure access to 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
01:39 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5696.IH
H5696
pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
usage and price information on past electricity con-
sumption, in a machine-readable format, can play a 
critical role in enabling consumers and energy serv-
ice companies to identify opportunities for greater 
efficiency and cost savings in electricity usage. 
(6) Although Congress, in the Energy Inde-
pendence and Security Act of 2007, amended the 
Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to re-
quire State public utility commissions and nonregu-
lated utilities to consider providing consumers with 
increased access to electricity usage and price infor-
mation, only a handful of States have adopted poli-
cies to require such access. 
(7) Consumers should have the right to timely 
access to the information that utilities record and 
collect from them regarding their electricity usage, 
and to information on the prices applied to that 
usage. 
(8) Improved access to information will em-
power consumers to better manage their electricity 
use and to reduce costs and will foster the develop-
ment of a vibrant, innovative market for products 
and services to assist consumers in doing so. 
(9) In providing consumers access to electricity 
usage information, whether directly or through an 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
01:39 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5696.IH
H5696
pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
authorized third party, it is imperative that the pri-
vacy of consumers and the security of their usage in-
formation be fully protected. 
SEC. 3. ELECTRIC CONSUMER RIGHT TO ACCESS ELECTRIC 
ENERGY INFORMATION. 
(a) ELECTRIC CONSUMER RIGHT OF ACCESS.—Title 
II of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 
is amended by adding after section 214 the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 215. ELECTRIC CONSUMER RIGHT TO ACCESS ELEC-
TRIC ENERGY INFORMATION. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
‘‘(1) FEDERAL
SMART
GRID
SUPPORT.—The 
term ‘Federal smart grid support’ means any grant 
provided under section 1306 of the Energy Inde-
pendence and Security Act of 2007 or any grant, 
contract, loan, loan guarantee, or other financial as-
sistance provided to any smart grid project under 
any other program administered by the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) FREE
OF
CHARGE.—The term ‘free of 
charge’ means, with respect to electric consumer or 
authorized third party access to retail electric energy 
information, that no fee is charged for such access. 
Such term shall not be construed to imply that any 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
01:39 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5696.IH
H5696
pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
costs of providing such access are not recovered or 
recoverable through generally applicable rates. 
‘‘(3) NATIONALLY
RECOGNIZED
STANDARD.— 
The term ‘nationally recognized standard’ means a 
standard that is recognized under the process coordi-
nated by the Director of the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology under section 1305 of the 
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. 
‘‘(4) NEAR REAL-TIME.—The term ‘near real- 
time’ means, with respect to communication of elec-
tric energy usage information by a smart meter, 
within 1 minute of the time at which such informa-
tion is recorded by the meter. 
‘‘(5) RETAIL
ELECTRIC
UTILITY.—The term 
‘retail electric utility’ means the electric utility that 
measures, records, and collects information on an 
electric consumer’s electric energy usage for billing 
purposes. 
‘‘(6) RETAIL
ELECTRIC
ENERGY
INFORMA-
TION.—The term ‘retail electric energy information’ 
means the following: 
‘‘(A) USAGE
INFORMATION.—An electric 
consumer’s electric energy consumption, meas-
ured in kilowatt-hours. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
01:39 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5696.IH
H5696
pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(B) PRICING
INFORMATION.—The rate 
applied to electric energy consumed by the elec-
tric consumer. 
‘‘(7) SMART
GRID
FUNCTIONS.—The term 
‘smart grid functions’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 1306(d) of the Energy Independence 
and Security Act of 2007. 
‘‘(8) SMART GRID PROJECT.—The term ‘smart 
grid project’ means a project that includes imple-
mentation, by a retail electric utility, of smart grid 
functions. 
‘‘(9) SMART METER.—The term ‘smart meter’ 
means a device used by a retail electric utility at the 
residence or facility of an electric consumer that is 
capable of measuring electric energy usage in inter-
vals of 1 hour or shorter and of communicating elec-
tric energy usage information by means of an elec-
tronic machine-readable signal in near real-time. 
‘‘(10) THIRD PARTY.—The term ‘third party’ 
means, with respect to any transaction involving re-
tail electric energy information, a person or entity 
other than— 
‘‘(A) the electric consumer to which such 
retail electric energy information pertains; or 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
01:39 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5696.IH
H5696
pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(B) the retail electric utility providing 
electric service to such electric consumer. 
‘‘(b) CONSUMER RIGHT OF ACCESS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each electric consumer in 
the United States shall have the right to access (and 
to authorize 1 or more third parties to access), from 
such consumer’s retail electric utility, the retail elec-
tric energy information of such electric consumer in 
electronic machine-readable form, in conformity with 
applicable nationally recognized standards, free of 
charge, and in a manner that is timely and that pro-
vides adequate protections for the security of such 
information and the privacy of such electric con-
sumer. 
‘‘(2) GRANULARITY
OF
INFORMATION.—The 
right to access retail electric energy information 
under paragraph (1) shall include the right to access 
retail electric energy information— 
‘‘(A) in the case of an electric consumer 
served by a smart meter, measured at intervals 
not less frequent than the intervals at which 
usage information is recorded by such smart 
meter; and 
‘‘(B) in the case of an electric consumer 
not served by a smart meter, measured at inter-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
01:39 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5696.IH
H5696
pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
vals of a frequency prescribed by the State reg-
ulatory authority or other entity with authority 
to set retail rates for the relevant retail electric 
utility, provided that in no event shall such fre-
quency be less than monthly. 
‘‘(3) TIMELINESS AND MODE OF ACCESS.— 
‘‘(A) WEB PRESENTMENT.—The right to 
access retail electric energy information under 
paragraph (1) shall include— 
‘‘(i) in the case of an electric con-
sumer served by a smart meter, the right 
to access retail electric energy information 
not more than 24 hours after electric en-
ergy consumption is recorded, through an 
Internet Web site operated by the retail 
electric utility or by such other entity as 
the retail electric utility or the relevant 
State regulatory authority may designate; 
and 
‘‘(ii) in the case of an electric con-
sumer not served by a smart meter, the 
right to access retail electric energy infor-
mation as expeditiously as possible after 
the time electric energy consumption is re-
corded, through an Internet Web site oper-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
01:39 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5696.IH
H5696
pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
in kilowatts, voltage, frequency, current, and 
power factor)— 
‘‘(i) directly from the smart meter at 
any time; and 
‘‘(ii) using 1 or more smart meter- 
compatible devices that conform with na-
tionally recognized standards. 
This subparagraph shall not apply in the case 
of an electric consumer served by a smart meter 
installed prior to the date that is 2 years after 
the date of enactment of this section that is not 
capable of such on-site communication. 
‘‘(4) HISTORICAL INFORMATION.—The right to 
access retail electric energy information under para-
graph (1) shall include the right to access— 
‘‘(A) at minimum, monthly aggregate in-
formation for at least the most recent 13 
months; and 
‘‘(B) such other retail electric energy infor-
mation as the retail electric utility retains, in 
accordance with any applicable requirements 
under State law. 
The requirements under this paragraph shall not 
apply to direct access to electric energy usage infor-
mation from a smart meter. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
01:39 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5696.IH
H5696
pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(5) THIRD PARTY USE OF INFORMATION.—A 
third party authorized by an electric consumer to ac-
cess such consumer’s retail electric energy informa-
tion shall not use such information for any purpose 
other than the provision of services by such third 
party to the electric consumer, and shall not disclose 
such information to any other party, unless such au-
thorized third party has received the informed, writ-
ten consent of the electric consumer for such use or 
disclosure. 
‘‘(c) MODEL RULE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this section, the Com-
mission shall, after consultation with State regu-
latory 
authorities, 
national 
organizations 
rep-
resenting nonregulated utilities, the Secretary of En-
ergy, the Director of the National Institute for 
Standards and Technology, and other appropriate 
Federal agencies, and after notice and opportunity 
for comment, issue a model rule prescribing min-
imum standards for implementation of the electric 
consumer right to access retail electric energy infor-
mation under subsection (b)(1). 
‘‘(2) PRIOR STATE ACTION.—In formulating the 
model rule under paragraph (1), the Commission 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
01:39 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5696.IH
H5696
pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
shall, to the extent practicable, preserve the integrity 
of and be guided by actions already taken by State 
regulatory authorities to ensure electric consumer 
access to retail electric energy information, including 
actions taken after consideration of the standard 
under section 111(d)(19). 
‘‘(3) STATE CONSIDERATION.—Each State reg-
ulatory authority and each nonregulated utility shall 
consider adoption and implementation of the na-
tional model rule issued under paragraph (1) (or a 
comparable rule or policy), as provided under section 
111(d)(20). 
‘‘(d) FEDERAL SMART GRID SUPPORT PROGRAMS.— 
‘‘(1) CONSIDERATION
AS
A
FACTOR.—Begin-
ning on the date that is 1 year after the model rule 
under subsection (c) is issued, the Secretary, in de-
termining whether to award Federal smart grid sup-
port to a retail electric utility, shall give preference 
to any applicant that has implemented policies for 
electric consumer access to retail electric energy in-
formation at least as stringent as those prescribed 
by the model rule issued under subsection (c). 
‘‘(2) 
REQUIREMENT.—Notwithstanding 
any 
other provision of law, beginning on the date that is 
2 years after the date the model rule under sub-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
01:39 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5696.IH
H5696
pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
section (c) is issued, no retail electric utility shall be 
eligible to receive Federal smart grid support unless 
such utility has implemented policies for electric con-
sumer access to retail electric energy information at 
least as stringent as those prescribed by the model 
rule issued under subsection (c). 
‘‘(e) BACKSTOP STATE ENFORCEMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that 
is 3 years after the date the model rule under sub-
section (c) is issued, if the attorney general of a 
State, or another official or agency of a State with 
competent authority under State law, has reason to 
believe that any retail electric utility in the relevant 
State is not complying with the minimum standards 
set forth in the model rule issued under subsection 
(c) (or standards of comparable or greater strin-
gency with respect to consumer access to retail elec-
tric energy information), the attorney general, offi-
cial, or agency of the State, as parens patriae, may 
bring a civil action against such retail electric utility, 
on behalf of the electric consumers receiving retail 
service from such retail electric utility, in a district 
court of the United States of appropriate jurisdic-
tion, to compel compliance with such standards. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
01:39 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5696.IH
H5696
pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(2) COSTS
AND
FEES.—In any civil action 
under paragraph (1), if the party bringing the action 
is successful in enforcing the standards identified by 
the model rule issued under subsection (c), the court 
may award to such party the costs of the action to-
gether with reasonable attorney’s fees, as determined 
by the court. 
‘‘(3) SAFE HARBOR.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No civil action may be 
brought against a retail electric utility under 
paragraph (1) if the Commission has deter-
mined that such retail electric utility, or the 
State regulatory authority that regulates such 
electric utility, has adopted a policy that is at 
least as stringent, with respect to electric con-
sumer access to retail electric energy informa-
tion, as the model rule issued under subsection 
(c). 
‘‘(B) COMMISSION
REVIEW.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
section, the Commission shall, after notice and 
opportunity for comment, issue an order estab-
lishing procedures for making determinations 
under subparagraph (A). Such order shall pro-
vide that, where a State regulatory authority or 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
01:39 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5696.IH
H5696
pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS