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City council passes customer bill of rights

The Naperville City Council reaffirmed its commitment to Naperville utility customers' privacy, security and right to choices through unanimous passage of the Naperville Smart Grid Initiative Customer Bill of Rights, a revolutionary document receiving national attention for its content. The Customer Bill of Rights ordinance can be viewed at http://bit.ly/gmQcVL.

The Customer Bill of Rights is a document that continues to receive national recognition, including from the U.S. Department of Energy, for its focus on customer rights. The document provides utility customers with an outline of their core rights to be informed, to privacy, to options and to data security. The final Customer Bill of Rights was developed based on customer feedback and input throughout the past seven months as well as current national and state guidelines and policies for smart grid projects.

“The City Council has tremendous foresight and recognizes that customers must have a say in the implementation of the smart grid in Naperville,” Community Relations Manager Nadja Lalvani said. “That includes a promise that their inherent rights as customers will be protected to the fullest extent. The Customer Bill of Rights, and its inclusion in our Municipal Code, puts weight behind that promise. While we are pleased the city continues to receive national recognition for this document, our primary goal has always been to ensure customer privacy and security first and foremost.”

The smart grid initiative is an investment in Naperville's city-owned utility to modernize the electric grid using digital technology to increase reliability, reduce operating costs, improve efficiency and reduce waste. This forward-thinking project gives residential and business customers more choices about how they use electricity and more control over what they pay for it.

In the future, the Customer Bill of Rights will serve as the policy shaping the Naperville Smart Grid Customer Privacy and Advocacy Plan and Customer Privacy and Advocacy Handbook. These documents, currently in development by city staff, will provide a roadmap for the city to uphold the rights affirmed in the Customer Bill of Rights.

The Customer Privacy and Advocacy Handbook will be made available publicly so all utility customers can understand the additional privacy measures the city is taking to protect its customers' personal data. It will also provide detailed direction to customers on how to file any privacy violation complaints and petition the Public Utilities Advisory Board for a resolution.

To receive news about the Naperville Smart Grid Initiative delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for the Smart Grid e-Newsletter at www.naperville.il.us/enews.aspx. For more information on the Naperville Smart Grid Initiative, visit www.naperville.il.us/smartgrid.aspx. For more information on the City of Naperville, visit www.naperville.il.us.

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