Opower invites industry to follow its lead and commit to protecting sensitive customer data

Quick Take: You can debate whether Opower is the market share leader in customer portals. (Competitors like Aclara claim to have more customers under management.) But there's no dispute that Opower is the mind share leader. It has simply been more clever and more nimble, as reflected in its most recent announcement. Opower is committing to abide by a set of data principles (see page 2) that cover access, privacy and security.

The principles are the obvious things that everyone *should* obey, but Opower is the first to trumpet its commitment. We trust and assume that others will follow its lead. Areas such as California and Ontario will have stringent consumer safeguards, but other jurisdictions will lag. By promising to adhere to certain principles even if not required by regulation, we can lessen the fear, uncertainty and doubt that leads to consumer pushback.  – Jesse Berst

Opower, the Arlington, VA-based energy efficiency software company, says it currently partners with more than 60 utility companies in the U.S. and U.K. The company uses a patent-pending analytics engine to deliver easy-to-understand home energy reports with targeted energy usage data and personalized efficiency tips for each customer’s household. 

"We know that privacy and security are important and we want to assure everyone -- utilities, customers, and other stakeholders -- that we deserve their trust with sensitive data,” said Dan Yates, co-founder and CEO of Opower. “Our goal is to help families take control of their home energy consumption. We believe customers have a right to know the details of how they use energy and how they can save, and it is our responsibility to protect the security and privacy of that information.”

Yates suggested Opower is "getting ahead of the game" by committing to standards that go beyond what the laws require in terms of protecting client information and he invited others in the industry to do the same.

Jesse Berst is the founder and chief analyst of Smart Grid News.com. He consults to smart grid companies seeking market entry advice and M&A advisory. A frequent keynoter at industry events in the US and abroad, he also serves on the Advisory Council of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Energy & Environment directorate.

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