This bill mandates the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to establish standards for the privacy and use of customer energy usage data (CEUD) collected through advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). It asserts that customers have full ownership and control over their CEUD, which can only be disclosed to authorized third parties with the customer's informed consent. The bill requires the BPU to create standardized privacy requirements within 90 days of its enactment, which will include measures to protect CEUD from unauthorized access and mandates notification procedures in the event of a data breach. Additionally, electric public utilities must develop a data access plan that ensures customers have timely access to their CEUD and are informed about third-party disclosures.

The bill also outlines specific requirements for the data access plan, including provisions for real-time access to CEUD, the ability for customers to deny or revoke consent for third-party access, and the collection of detailed interval usage data. The BPU is given 30 days to review and approve these plans, which will be deemed approved if not acted upon within that timeframe. Furthermore, the bill clarifies that utilities can use anonymized CEUD for analysis and reporting, and it does not restrict customers from independently sharing their data with third parties not governed by the bill's provisions.