Utility Connect¶

Utility Connect is MeterBase's framework for pulling utility bill data directly from utility companies, eliminating manual bill uploads. This page covers the current state and roadmap for direct utility integrations.

Current Status¶

Integration	Status	Description
Manual Upload	Available	Upload PDF bills for AI-powered extraction
Green Button (ESPI)	Coming Soon	Standardized utility data exchange protocol
Urjanet / Arcadia	Coming Soon	Third-party utility data aggregation

Manual Upload (Available Now)¶

The primary method for getting bill data into MeterBase today is manual PDF upload with AI extraction. See the Bill Tracking Guide for full details.

Workflow:

Download your utility bill PDF from the utility's online portal
Upload to MeterBase (single or bulk)
AI extracts all structured data automatically
Review and confirm

Bulk Upload for Onboarding

When onboarding a new portfolio, use the bulk upload feature to process up to 50 bills at once. Upload 12 months of history per property for the best savings analysis results.

Green Button (ESPI) -- Coming Soon¶

What Is Green Button?¶

Green Button is a standardized protocol (based on the ESPI -- Energy Services Provider Interface -- standard) that allows utility customers to download or share their energy usage data in a machine-readable format. It is supported by many major U.S. utilities.

How It Will Work in MeterBase¶

flowchart LR U["Utility Company"] -->|"Green Button Connect"| G["MeterBase"] G --> D["Auto-Import Bills"] D --> A["AI Analysis"] A --> S["Savings Finder"]

Green Button Download (CMD):

User downloads a Green Button XML file from their utility's website
Upload the XML file to MeterBase
MeterBase parses the standardized format and creates bill records

Green Button Connect My Data (CMD):

User authorizes MeterBase to access their utility account via OAuth
MeterBase automatically retrieves new bill data on a schedule
No manual downloads required

Supported Data¶

Green Button data typically includes:

Data Type	Description
Interval usage	15-minute or hourly kWh readings
Billing usage	Monthly billing period usage totals
Cost data	Bill amounts (availability varies by utility)
Demand	Peak demand readings (availability varies)

Participating Utilities¶

Green Button is supported by many major utilities including:

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)
Southern California Edison (SCE)
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)
Commonwealth Edison (ComEd)
Consolidated Edison (ConEd)
Duke Energy
Dominion Energy
And many more

Timeline

Green Button Download support is planned for Q3 2026. Green Button Connect My Data (automated retrieval) is planned for Q4 2026. Timelines are subject to change.

Urjanet / Arcadia -- Coming Soon¶

What Are These Services?¶

Urjanet (now part of Arcadia) is a utility data aggregation service that connects to utility company billing systems and retrieves bill data on behalf of customers. It supports thousands of utilities and provides structured bill data without requiring Green Button support from the utility.

How It Will Work in MeterBase¶

sequenceDiagram participant U as Utility Company participant A as Arcadia/Urjanet participant G as MeterBase G->>A: Register utility account A->>U: Authenticate with utility credentials U-->>A: Bill data access granted loop Monthly A->>U: Retrieve new bills U-->>A: Bill data A->>G: Webhook with bill data G->>G: Create bill record + AI analysis end

User provides their utility account credentials (or authorizes access via OAuth where supported)
Arcadia/Urjanet connects to the utility's billing system
New bills are automatically retrieved and sent to MeterBase
MeterBase creates bill records and runs AI analysis

Advantages Over Green Button¶

Feature	Green Button	Urjanet/Arcadia
Utility coverage	~50 major utilities	10,000+ utilities
Data richness	Usage data, sometimes cost	Full bill data including all charges
Setup complexity	Per-utility OAuth	Single platform
Real-time updates	Depends on utility	Consistent schedule

Coverage¶

Urjanet/Arcadia covers virtually all U.S. electric, gas, water, and sewer utilities, making it the most comprehensive option for portfolios spread across many utility territories.

Timeline

Urjanet/Arcadia integration is planned for Q4 2026. This timeline depends on partnership agreements and API access. Contact the MeterBase team if this integration is a priority for your organization.

How Auto Bill Pull Will Work¶

Once utility connect integrations are live, the bill management workflow becomes fully automated:

flowchart TD A["Utility Issues Bill"] --> B["Auto-Retrieved via\nGreen Button or Arcadia"] B --> C["MeterBase Creates Bill Record"] C --> D["AI Analyzes Bill"] D --> E{"Anomaly\nDetected?"} E -->|Yes| F["Alert Property Manager"] E -->|No| G["Update Cost Tracking"] G --> H["Auto-Run Savings Check"] F --> G

What changes for users:

No more downloading and uploading PDFs
Bills appear automatically within 1-3 days of utility issuance
Anomaly alerts notify you of unusual bills without checking manually
Savings analysis stays current with every new bill
RUBS calculations can be triggered automatically when a new bill arrives

What stays the same:

AI analysis and extraction quality
Savings finder functionality
RUBS calculation and charge posting
All reporting features

Manual Upload Always Available

Even after utility connect integrations are live, manual PDF upload will remain available as a fallback for utilities that are not yet connected or for historical bills.

Preparing for Utility Connect¶

To be ready when utility connect integrations launch:

Gather utility account credentials -- Collect online portal usernames and passwords for each utility account in your portfolio
Verify account access -- Ensure you can log into each utility's website and view bills
Document account numbers -- Map each MeterBase property to its utility account number
Check Green Button support -- Visit your utility's website to see if Green Button download is available today

These preparation steps will make the onboarding process quick when the integrations are released.