Utility usage map laid out across a circuit board

Simplifying Access to Utility Usage Data for an Electric Company

A closer look at how Big Data Management Services helped an electric utility company provide secure, scalable access to usage data while reducing the IT resources required to manage its Green Button platform.

The Challenge

The utility company serves customers in a competitive electricity market that includes approximately 70 Competitive Retail Energy Service (CRES) providers, along with solar, battery and energy management providers. To support this market, the utility must provide secure, reliable access to customer-authorized energy usage data.

Managing this capability in-house requires significant IT resources, specialized expertise and staff resources. These demands increased costs, slowed access for providers and diverted internal teams from the utility’s core operations.

The Solution

Big Data implemented an integrated solution to manage the utility-side Green Button platform, which offers a secure way to download electric data. The electricity consumer can allow third parties, like demand response providers, access to their interval usage data for a set amount of time.

  • Automating Partner Onboarding: We facilitated the process and managed the technology that handles infrastructure setup, security, credentials and configuration, enabling the utility to quickly onboard and support dozens of providers with minimal internal involvement.
  • Managing Data Access: We provided secure, branded environments that allowed CRES providers and other authorized third parties to access interval usage data while maintaining data separation and security.
  • Providing Ongoing Platform Management: We managed hosting, monitoring, certificates, cybersecurity and platform maintenance, reducing the technical and administrative burden on the utility’s internal teams.

The Outcome

The solution enabled the utility company to deliver secure, reliable data access while minimizing internal IT demands. Automated onboarding and platform management reduced operational overhead, accelerated access for new providers and allowed internal teams to remain focused on core operations while Big Data managed the processes behind its Green Button services.