Evaluation in a competitive utility environment: the threat of confidentiality

摘要

Utilities have become concerned that their competitors will desire access to energy-related data--including energy-efficiency data collected by utilities from their energy- efficiency programs--that they may regard as proprietary or confidential. In the future, disputes about confidentiality may focus more on costs and market information (as well as energy use and load data) than on energy-efficiency data per se. So far, the discussion has been limited to ratepayer-funded data. Consequently, many utilities are now requesting that the data (including evaluation data) they submit to their utility regulatory commissions remain confidential. Withholding utility information from the public is likely to harm the evaluation community that depends on the free flow of information for improving the practice of evaluation as well as for disseminating the lessons learned from particular program evaluations. Confidentiality will also have significant policy implications. In response to these concerns, in late 1995 and early 1996, we conducted a survey of state public utility commissions (PUCs) 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. We focus on the first two objectives of this study. In addition to our interviews, we reviewed selected state statutes, judicial and PUC decisions, rules and procedures, protective orders, and interim policy documents. Evaluators need to understand the context of confidentiality as well as the response of the regulatory commissions to confidentiality, because evaluators will need to adapt to a new environment where energy-related data and information may be harder to obtain and distribute. We propose that regulators conduct the following activities as soon as possible: 1. Assess information needs and sources and revise existing policies. 2. Review process for handling confidentiality claims and revise existing policies. 3. Monitor restructuring activities. 4. Develop framework and specific guidelines. 5. Develop standards of conduct. 6. Hold workshops on confidentiality. 7. Design and implement a pilot project. 8. Establish and support consumer advocates. 9. Support more research on confidentiality. Utilities will be reluctant to support these activities and develop the new rules of the game. Regulators need to be more proactive and conduct the above activities promptly in order to avoid paralysis and inertia and to maintain the regulatory balance. The lack of a regulatory framework and specific policies for information access may only make existing problems more severe. The issue of confidentiality has broad sociopolitical dimensions. In the next few years, commissions will be asked to create information policies that will demonstrate the degree of their support for public access to utility- held information. These policies will be important since they can 'profoundly affect the manner in which an individual in a society, indeed a society itself, makes political, economic and social choices'. Finally, in all likelihood, evaluators will need to adapt to an environment where utility data will be more difficult to obtain and disseminate.