H.R. 7741, the E-Access Act, is designed to make it easier for consumers to access their own electric and natural gas usage and service information, including customer-specific data that can help them better manage costs and participate in programs like bill payment assistance and energy-efficiency or demand-response initiatives. The bill sets a framework requiring utilities to provide this data electronically, for free, and in machine-readable formats to consumers and authorized third parties, with clear privacy and security safeguards, user-friendly consent, standardized data-sharing standards, and performance expectations (including more than 99% system availability), supported by independent certification. Within 180 days, the Department of Energy working with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must issue model guidelines for how utilities and states should deliver retail customer data, and states can apply for up to $10 million in FY2026 for certification and implementation assistance, along with related federal support. The bill also requires studies and a year-later joint report on the costs and potential competition and reliability effects of sending individual electric meter data to covered wholesale electricity markets, including estimates of reprogramming and settlement costs when meters are not already set up for the needed data intervals.
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