Our Green Button Hosting method uses a utility's data-sharing platform, such as Pacific Gas and Electric's (PG&E's) Share My Data platform, to complete the authorization and data transmission process.
However, unlike our Green Button Proxy method, users are also registered users on the utility's data-sharing platform. This allows the user's Green Button Hosting authorization form to be fully branded with company information, including the logo, and for the company to be listed on the utility's third-party directory.
Completing the Green Button Hosting registration and set-up process can take three (3) to twelve (12) months per utility. Users can continue using UtilityAPI to collect data via our different data access methods during the Green Button Hosting registration process.
Authorization permission flow
The Green Button Hosting authorization process combines the user's branded authorization form and the utility account holders' online account login process. This process is bulleted below:
- A user sends a UAH a link to their branded authorization form;
- On the authorization form, the UAH confirms their email and name and clicks the "Continue to Final Step" button;
- The UAH is redirected to the utility's account login page, where they enter their username and password to access the utility's data-sharing platform;
- On the utility's data-sharing platform, the UAH specifies what data they want to share with the user and completes the process.
- The UAH is redirected to the user-branded auth form, where they click the "Continue to Final Step" button again to authorize data sharing with the identified user.
By completing the authorization process, the UAH is authorizng the utility to share their utility data directly with the identified user.
Data transmission method
Once UtilityAPI receives a completed Green Button Hosting authorization, our software collects data from the utility data-sharing platform via the utilities' API. It formats the available data into our four standard products, including:
- Meter data,
- Bill data,
- Interval data,
- Accounting data
Currently, no utility data-sharing platform makes Bill PDFs available over their API.
Supported utilities:
- Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)
- Southern California Edison (SCE)
- San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)
- Consolidated Edison (ConEd)