Confidential data in a competitive environment: Setting a regulatory agenda
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA (United States)
Utilities will be reluctant to share data that gives them a competitive advantage over competitors. For exactly that reason, regulators should be more proactive in reviewing and revising, if need be, their policies with respect to the confidentiality of that data. Historically, the electric utility industry has been regarded as one of the most open industries in the United States in terms of inter-company sharing of information and conducting joint research and development activities. But as the prospect of competition among electricity power providers has increased in recent years, investor-owned utilities have become concerned that their competitors will desire access to energy-related data that they may regard as proprietary or confidential. As a result, many utilities are now requesting that the data they submit to their utility regulatory commissions remain confidential. As noted in the discussion below, withholding utility information from the public is likely to have significant policy implications with respect to such matters as: (1) consumer education, the pursuit of truth, mutual respect among parties, and social cooperation; (2) creation of a fair market for competitive energy services; (3) the regulatory balance; (4) regional and national assessments of energy-savings opportunities; (5) research and development; and (6) evaluations of utility programs, plans, and policies. In response to these concerns, in late 1995 and early 1996 the author conducted a survey of state public utility commissions in the U.S. to assess: (1) the relative importance of the issue of confidential data in the regulatory arena; (2) the regulatory response to utility requests for confidentiality (e.g., formal policies, guidelines, rules and procedures, and decisions); and (3) the type of data filed as confidential with PUCs. In this article, the author focus on only the first two objectives of this study.
- OSTI ID:
- 535280
- Journal Information:
- Electricity Journal, Vol. 10, Issue 3; Other Information: PBD: Apr 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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