Power to the People: Electricity Consumer Principles
These principles reflect the desire to establish a much more consumer responsive, reliable and environmentally responsible electricity system. Developed with citizens, mayors, the business community and other stakeholders, these Principles provide an electricity consumer’s “bill of rights,” a template for evaluating existing and proposed electricity policies and legislation. The following precepts are designed to guide policy making today and help future generations adapt to changing circumstances:
- All electricity consumers have the right to receive information on the ever-changing, real-time price of electricity - called dynamic pricing - and the means and incentives to use this information to their best advantage.
- All electricity consumers have the right to system reliability and service quality that protects life and safety under all conditions, and meets the needs of today's digital society.
- All electricity consumers have the right to hold their utilities accountable to a publicly open set of performance standards.
- All electricity consumers have the right to buy their electricity services from any source they choose in open, competitive markets.
- All electricity consumers have the right to sell the excess power they produce or store back to the grid at a fair market price.
- All communities have the right to improve their electricity distribution system, with the full cooperation of their utility, to best serve citizen needs.
