Data must be provided

UARB tells NSP to hand over its customer information to EfficiencyOne

The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board has ordered Nova Scotia Power Inc. to provide names, email addresses and customer usage data to EfficiencyOne.

EfficiencyOne has the exclusive rights over a 10-year term to supply the power utility with conservation strategies to its customers.

It was established in 2014 as a result of legislative changes requiring a franchise holder to market efficiencies and energy saving marketing materials directly to consumers.

The Efficiency Nova Scotia franchise is a public utility regulated by the province’s utility and review board, which approves agreements between Nova Scotia Power and EfficiencyOne on the level of activity provided to power customers. The cost of these activities is included in electricity rates.

In a decision issued Wednesday, the board said Nova Scotia Power must hand over information including customers’ names, email addresses and power usage data to EfficiencyOne within 60 days. It must also continue to provide EfficiencyOne with updated customer lists.

Nova Scotia Power had cited privacy concerns for its refusal to hand over the information to EfficiencyOne.

In its brief to the board, EfficiencyOne stated it did not have access to approximately 70 per cent of electricity ratepayers. For the remaining 30 per cent, it only maintains “basic, static information.”

For those customers who do not want their information shared, there is an optout mechanism.

The non-profit organization filed its application with the board on June 12 seeking an order compelling Nova Scotia Power to provide it with the customer information.

The customer usage data requested consisted of activation and termination of an account, meter and meter reading data, peak demand values, amounts billed to a customer for peak demand, customer billing addresses and their phone numbers.