Green Button Data-Access Model for Smart Cities

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This paper provides a case study and lessons learned through the roll-out of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology and U.S. Department of Energy Green Button electricity, natural gas, and water data-access initiative: to make readily available energy and water consumption data for consumers and third-party companies assisting mutual customers of utilities while protecting the security and privacy of the data. Energy and water usage data are important for smart cities in addition to individual consumers. Smart-city solutions rely heavily on the availability of such data to provide situational awareness as well as to inform control, actuation, and decision-making processes. However, the data need to be protected both for security and integrity. This paper presents a case study using the Green Button standard and the steps taken to ensure data security and privacy while enabling access to those consumption data by the consumer and third parties. Data security and privacy were achieved through use of the Green Button standard and subsequent implementation by the Green Button Alliance of a compliance-testing program. Considerations and solutions were needed for data in transit, data at rest, and the authorization mechanisms for allowing unregulated third-party companies to interface directly to utilities on behalf of the consumer while ensuring the consumer maintains complete control of what is to be shared and the ability to revoke that sharing at any time. The lessons learned from this approach could be applicable to other smart-city data.