Privacy And The Smart Grid: California Public Utilities Commission Adopts Smart Grid Data Protection Rules

Recently the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in a unanimous decision approved data protection rules for the following Smart Grid providers: Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas and Electric Company, and the companies that assist them in utility operations, companies under contract with the utilities, and other companies that, after authorization by a customer or by the action of the CPUC, gain access to such customer's usage data directly from the utility.

In addition to the rules protecting the privacy and security of customers' energy consumption data generated by smart meters and transmitted by the Smart Grid, the CPUC's decision adopted (1) reporting and audit requirements regarding the utilities' data privacy and security practices, third-party access to customer usage information, and security breaches of customer usage information, and (2) policies to govern access to customer usage data by customers and by