EQ Research’s Amanda Vanega and Rusty Haynes will be at Solar Power International next month in Anaheim. If you’ll be there, too, and would like to meet with EQ, please feel free to contact us in advance. Rusty will give a presentation on September 15 at 1:00 p.m. on proposed utility rate structures that would undermine the benefits of rooftop solar. The discussion will address details of recent utility proposals, how those proposals would impact rooftop solar, and how state regulators are reacting to such proposals.

In addition, EQ Research’s Kelly Crandall moderated a panel and presented at EUCI Utility 2.0: Adapting to the New Business Reality, on August 10 in Denver. The panel, “Can Customer Data Be Used for New Business Opportunities?,” addressed data management strategies for utilities and opportunities for creative data use and increased customer offerings without crossing over the line. Kelly’s presentation encouraged utilities to create reasonable pathways for researchers, policymakers, and industries to access aggregated and anonymized energy data, and offered practical suggestions from state and federal statistical agencies on how to manage data privacy concerns.