A major mystery in the smart meter world is ownership of the data recorded by smart meters and electric, gas, and water meters generally. I’m not aware of any country or state that has clearly defined who owns the data, but legal precedents suggest energy and water retailers are the owners. Yet policymakers are taking big steps to define the consumer’s rights.

For example, Senator Mark Udall of Colorado is about to introduce in Congress the ‘‘Electric Consumer Right to Know Act’’ or the ‘‘e–KNOW Act”. e-KNOW would give consumers full access to their meter data.

While details of Udall’s bill remain under development, California and Texas have already established consumer rights. In both states, consumers have the right to real-time data through a Home Area Network (HAN) interface in smart meters (using ZigBee), through an online website the next day (live today), and through authorized third parties (live in Texas this fall and live in California in a year or two). e-KNOW likely will not require installation of smart meters, only that once such meters are installed, that the data be made available.

Why are retailers the data owners and not consumers? In every other major industry that has addressed the issue, retailers own it. Think banking, credit cards, cell phone bills, even grocery shopping.

However, the point is not the ownership, but the access and privacy rights. In banking, consumers have electronic access to their data, and laws prevent banks from releasing sensitive consumer data without consumer authorization. Legislators and regulators are rolling out the same policies for metering data.

Let’s talk less about who owns the meter data and focus instead on making sure consumers get access to it – as useful information, not just data – so they can start better managing their energy and water use.