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When Con Edison made history as the first utility in New York State to achieve Green Button Certification, it marked a major milestone in customer data transparency and utility innovation. As longstanding technology partners to Con Edison, Highstep is proud to have played an integral role in bringing this initiative to life.
What is Green Button Certification?
Green Button is a national standard that enables customers to securely access and share their energy usage and account data in a consistent, machine-readable format. It empowers customers with transparency and gives third-party energy solution providers the tools they need to innovate — all while protecting consumer privacy.
Con Edison: Setting the Pace
Becoming Green Button Certified is no small task. It requires building a secure, standards-based data-sharing ecosystem, compliant with regulatory expectations and capable of supporting large-scale integrations. Con Edison not only met this challenge — they led it, with Orange & Rockland Utilities following shortly after.
Where Highstep Came In
Highstep’s team was deeply involved in the design, development, and ongoing enhancement of Con Edison’s Green Button Connect (GBC) Share My Data API platform — the foundation of their Green Button Certification.
Here’s how we contributed:
- Green Button Connect (GBC): We supported the development of standards-based programmatic APIs to share energy usage and retail customer data with third-party systems, all governed by a customer consent workflow.
- ESCO APIs: We contributed to API solutions that allow Energy Supply Companies (ESCOs) to access customer and usage data for the accounts they manage.
- Large Customer APIs: For commercial and industrial customers with high account volumes, we helped develop APIs that provide direct access to usage, billing, and customer data — no additional consent required once linked to a user’s profile.
Our Role at a Glance:
- Led the design, development, and enhancement of the GBC Share My Data platform
- Supported technical onboarding of third parties in the Share My Data program
- Provided ongoing support to resolve integration issues with third-party systems
- Participated in Digital Customer Experience architecture meetings to ensure alignment with the broader digital transformation vision of the utility
Why It Matters
This Green Button Certification is more than a technological achievement — it signals a shift toward greater customer control, regulatory readiness, and a more connected utility ecosystem. It also opens the door for developers and energy innovators to create more personalized, data-driven solutions. For Highstep, it reaffirms our commitment to building the future of utility technology.
Looking Ahead
From customer data platforms to secure, standards-based APIs, Highstep continues to help utilities modernize their digital infrastructure and meet tomorrow’s energy challenges.
