How many of you actually use Green Button data in your audits? I keep hearing about it but most of my clients don't know what it is and neither do the utility reps I talk to.
Green Button data — game changer or overhyped?
I use it when available. Green Button gives you standardized XML data with interval readings, which is great for load profile analysis and TOU rate modeling. The problem is adoption — only about 30-40% of utilities support it and even fewer make it easy to access. ComEd, PG&E, and Con Edison have good Green Button implementations. Most Southern utilities barely know what it is. When it's available, it saves me hours compared to working from PDF bills. When it's not, I request CSV exports from the utility's online portal.
Green Button is useful but don't let its absence slow you down. Most of the billing errors we find — wrong rate class, wrong multiplier, wrong tax treatment — are visible on the face of the monthly bill without interval data. Green Button adds value for demand analysis and TOU optimization but it's not necessary for the core audit work. Use it when it's easy to get, but don't spend weeks fighting a utility for Green Button data when you could be auditing bills.
That's reassuring. I was worried I was falling behind by not using it. Sounds like it's a nice-to-have, not a must-have.