I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4860 
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 
MARCH 16, 2010 
Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts 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. 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 
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is amended by adding after section 214 the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 215. ELECTRIC CONSUMER RIGHT TO ACCESS ELEC-
TRIC ENERGY INFORMATION. 
‘‘(a) ELECTRIC CONSUMER RIGHT TO ELECTRIC EN-
ERGY INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(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) the 
retail electric energy information of such electric 
consumer in electronic machine-readable form, in 
conformity with nationally recognized open stand-
ards, free of charge, and in a manner that is timely 
and convenient and that provides adequate protec-
tions for the security of such information and the 
privacy of such electric consumer. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec-
tion: 
‘‘(A) RETAIL ELECTRIC ENERGY INFORMA-
TION.—The term ‘retail electric energy informa-
tion’ means the following: 
‘‘(i) USAGE INFORMATION.—An elec-
tric consumer’s electric energy consump-
tion over a defined time period, including 
information on consumption during not 
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less than the 24 months prior to the date 
of access of such information by such elec-
tric consumer. 
‘‘(ii) PRICING
INFORMATION.—Time- 
based retail electric energy prices applied 
to the electric consumer. 
‘‘(B) SMART
METER.—The term ‘smart 
meter’ means a meter installed by the electric 
utility that delivers electric energy to an electric 
consumer at the home or facility of such electric 
consumer that measures electric energy usage 
and is capable of communicating electric energy 
usage information by means of an electronic 
machine-readable signal in real time or near 
real time. 
‘‘(3) TIMELINESS
AND
GRANULARITY.—The 
right to access retail electric energy information 
under paragraph (1) includes, at a minimum, the 
right to access retail electric energy information— 
‘‘(A)(i) in real time or near real time, for 
electric consumers served by a smart meter; 
and 
‘‘(ii) as expeditiously after the time of col-
lection as reasonably feasible for electric con-
sumers not served by a smart meter; and 
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‘‘(B) except as otherwise provided in para-
graph (4), data at intervals— 
‘‘(i) not greater than 15 minutes for 
electric consumers served by a smart 
meter; and 
‘‘(ii) not less frequent than the inter-
vals at which such data is collected by the 
electric utility providing retail service, for 
electric consumers not served by a smart 
meter. 
‘‘(4) RETENTION.—The data interval require-
ments in paragraph (3)(B) shall not apply to usage 
data after a period of 24 months from the date such 
data is recorded. 
‘‘(b) GUIDELINES
FOR ELECTRIC CONSUMER AC-
CESS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the en-
actment of this section, the Commission shall, after con-
sultation with State regulatory authorities, the Secretary 
of Energy, and other appropriate Federal agencies, and 
after notice and opportunity for comment, issue guidelines 
identifying minimum national standards for implementa-
tion of the electric consumer right to access retail electric 
energy information under subsection (a)(1). In formu-
lating such guidelines, the Commission shall, to the extent 
practicable, preserve the integrity of and be guided by ac-
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