In September 2011, U.S. Chief Technology Officer, Aneesh Chopra, challenged utilities across the country to develop “Green Button”—a means of providing detailed customer energy-usage information available for download in a simple, common format.  Through utility industry support for Green Button, consumers can make better-informed decisions about their energy consumption.  Standardizing on the data format will result in innovative applications that will transform the way people use energy.

In response to requests from DOE, NIST, and the White House to help accelerate application development and industry adoption, a new initiative is getting underway in the form of the Green Button Alliance.  The alliance will utilize existing standards and technology from NAESB and UCAIug and focus its attention on developing a rich industry ecosystem consisting of electric utilities, independent system operators (ISOs) and regional transmission operators (RTOs), suppliers and users of automation and control systems, technology integrators, policy makers, regulatory agencies, and others.

The Green Button Alliance builds on a foundation of technical activities to support the development, testing, and deployment of the Green Button standard and facilitate its acceleration and widespread adoption.