From mshames@ucan.org Thu Jun 27 14:13:20 1996 Subject: Privacy -- for posting on the Web Page TO: Team "D" FROM: Michael Shames RE: PRIVACY DATE: June 24, 1996 The following are UCAN's responses to the questions posed by the group at the June 19th meeting. As a preface, UCAN believes that questions about privacy should be broken into two types of information: protected and unprotected information. "Protected" information is any information that is customer specific or can be used to readily secure customer-specific information. "Unprotected" information is aggregated customer information. These categories roughly correspond to the "personal" and "impersonal" information terms used by the group at the last meeting. 1. Equal access by electric or generation service providers? UCAN submits that all players in the electric markets should enjoy equal access to unprotected information at as low a cost as possible. We see no differentiating factor for generation service providers. 2. Privacy standards governing retailers? Retailers must preserve the confidentiality of any "protected" information. Retailers have an obligation to sell, at cost, any "unprotected" information to the UDC if the UDC can demonstrate that that information is necessary to conduct load profiling. They do not have an obligation to sell "unprotected" information to other energy service providers. 3. Release of UDC protected and unprotected information? The UDC must sell, AT COST, any unprotected information to any licensed energy provider. UDC may not attempt to sell the information at "market" prices nor may it sell the information to other companies without CPUC approval. Protected information may also be sold, at cost, but only when specifically authorized by the individual customer. 4. Opt-in/Opt-out UCAN submits that customers must expressly CHOOSE to have any protected information released by a UDC or any other energy service provider. Providers may periodically offer customers the option of opting-in to a release of such information. However, in no circumstance can protected information be released due to a customer's inaction. 5. Pricing for information provided by the UDC Any customer information sold by the UDC (protected or unprotected) must be sold at cost. Cost will be determined by the CPUC in period regulatory proceedings. In some cases, the CPUC will determine that such information has literally no cost. For example, the MIRACLE customer consumption surveys conducted annually by a UDC have costs that have already been collected in rates. The CPUC may reasonably conclude that such information, having been paid by ratepayers, can be released at the cost of copying and handling, and no more. The public interest will be served by the low-cost and ready dissemination of unprotected customer information to the marketplace. UCAN will look to this interest being served by offering existing unprotected customer information collected by IOUs at as low a cost as possible. 6. Who gets the revenue There will be little, if any revenue, to squabble over if all information is disseminated at cost. If information is sold at above cost, then revenue should go to the individual customer, which has previously given information to the utility with the understanding that it was for limited use purposes. UCAN believes that customer specific information has been given to IOUs in the past with a limited-use restriction. The customer has retained the right to control any use of the information beyond the provision of monopoly electric service. Michael Shames - mshames@ucan.org Utility Consumers' Action Network 1717 Kettner Blvd. Suite 105 San Diego, CA 92101 619-696-6966