Stream My Data FAQs

Compatible energy monitoring devices must support ZigBee communications and be Smart Energy Profile 1.0 or 1.1 certified. PG&E validated several devices that work with the SmartMeter™ and the PG&E network. You may use any Zigbee SEP 1.0 or 1.1 device, but devices that are not on this list may not work as well with the SmartMeter™.

Several types of devices are available:

• In-home Displays (IHDs) or energy monitoring devices show your real-time energy info on a display.
• Gateways connect the SmartMeter™ to the Internet, providing access to real-time energy info through a web browser, smartphone or other connected device.
• Smart Programmable Controllable Thermostats (PCTs) are thermostats that can also receive the real-time energy info from the SmartMeter™.
• USB dongles are similar to flash drives but include a ZigBee-enabled device that can communicate wirelessly with other devices. You can connect a USB dongle with your PC or an Internet connection to view real-time energy info.
• Smart plugs allow you to monitor and control the power consumption of individual appliances.
• Load control switches automatically turn on and off devices that consume a significant amount of energy, such as pool pumps.
• Smart appliances can receive energy info and use presets to adjust your energy usage.

PLEASE NOTE: Actual device capabilities vary depending on the type, model and manufacturer.

The SmartMeter™ has two radios. The first radio relays your electrical consumption and meter status to PG&E. This info helps us deliver energy reliably and efficiently. The second radio is for Stream My Data and is turned off by default. When you complete the online registration for Stream My Data, the second radio is activated. The SmartMeter™ keeps the real-time electricity info that it gathers. This info is securely transmitted to your compatible energy-monitoring device.

Sign in to your account. Visit Your Account. Then, select Stream My Data under My Usage and Ways to Save to access your Stream My Data dashboard. Eligible meters display in the SmartMeter™ electric meters table. Use the + icon to expand the table and display any compatible meters. When you have a device, you can register it on the Stream My Data dashboard. Follow these steps to register your device:

1. Register your energy-monitoring device. Complete the required fields, click Next and confirm your data. Carefully review your info before submitting it, because the device MAC address can only be changed or corrected by calling Customer Support
2. Configure the meter. Follow the steps outlined after registration. This process will turn on the second radio within your meter and enable your device to connect to the meter. The process requires approximately two minutes, but can sometimes take four tries
3. Connect your energy-monitoring device. When the meter is successfully configured, you can connect your device. This process takes approximately five minutes, but can sometimes take up to four tries

If you have trouble connecting your device, please see the Connection Tips. If you are still unable to connect after four tries, contact Stream My Data Customer Support. Email us at StreamMyData@pge.com. You can also call 1-877-743-4357, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m-7 p.m.

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The MAC Address and Install Code are sequences of numbers and letters unique to each device. They are found on the device packaging, labeling or in the device menu options. When entering this info, check carefully for zeroes and the letter O, and enter them correctly. Since the numbers are small, it may be easier to take a photo of the numbers and enlarge them on your screen. Please call Customer Support to correct your MAC address if you think that you’ve entered it incorrectly.

A range of issues might interfere with connecting your device. Issues include:

• Distance to the meter is important for connecting a device. Your device must be located within 75 feet of the meter at your premise or closer.
• Wireless electronic devices operating on the same channel as the ZigBee radio in the meter (for example, a Wi-Fi router, microwave, baby monitor, cordless phone and so on) may interfere with the connection to your device.
• Signal interference caused by home construction materials or other obstacles may affect the connection between the meter and your device.

For more info or help connecting a device, contact Stream My Data Customer Support.

No, your device only works with one meter at a time. If you move or you'd like to give your device to a friend, you must first call Customer Support to disconnect your device from the meter on your premises. After you have disconnected the device from the meter, anyone who wants to connect the device needs to contact Stream My Data Customer Support to have it reconnected.

Yes, you can connect up to 20 devices to the SmartMeter™. PG&E recommends using an intermediary device, such as a gateway device, if you want to connect more than three devices to the SmartMeter™.

The Stream My Data radio signal broadcasts on a securely encrypted, 2.4GHz ZigBee Smart Energy 1.0 standards–based wireless channel. ZigBee incorporates PKI certificates using Certicom Elliptic Curve Qu Vanstone (ECQV) technology, which helps uniquely identify each device at the time it connects to Stream My Data. This technology enables devices and the meter to securely authenticate when communicating with each other. Only devices that have been securely authenticated and paired with the SmartMeter™ can access your real-time energy data. In addition, Stream My Data works like a Wi-Fi network. Your device is only accessible within the localized area around the SmartMeter™ (typically up to 75 feet).

PG&E safeguards the info delivered to the SmartMeter™ after you connect an energy-monitoring device to the SmartMeter™. However, this data becomes your data and you may share that data with third parties.
NOTE: You are responsible for safeguarding any personal info you share with third parties.

With gateway devices where energy usage is viewed on a third-party web page or mobile application, you choose which site or app to use, and the level of info you wish to give to the third-party partners. When you provide info of any kind to a third party, you are responsible for safeguarding your info. PG&E is not responsible for the security of these services.

Real-Time Electricity Usage shows how much electricity is being used in your home in real time. To learn how much energy your electrical appliances use, turn them on and off to see how the usage changes.

Real-Time Price is the price of your electricity at the present moment based on your rate plan tier (E1 and E6 customers) or Time of Use (TOU) period (for E6 and EVA customers). Pricing can change depending on factors defined by the rate plan and the day in the billing cycle. The pricing does not include discounts, but it does include California Alternative Rates for Energy (CARE) if you are enrolled in this program.

Real-Time Electricity Costs are provided on some devices by multiplying the Real-Time Usage and the Real-Time Price, so you can see how much your usage costs at a given time.

Estimated Costs to Date are messages sent to your device that provide an estimation of your electricity bill from the beginning of your billing cycle through today, based on your actual usage. These estimates help approximate your bill so you can better track and control usage and Real-Time Electricity Costs.

NOTE: Estimated Costs to Date may not match your bill because they include all charges on an actual bill, but exclude credits or balances from previous bills.

Your Estimated Electric Bill This Month is a prediction of your monthly electricity bill based on your usage to date. This estimate forecasts your usage for the remaining days in the billing cycle based on your previous usage and adds that to the Estimated Costs to Date. The Estimated Electric Bill This Month becomes more accurate over the course of the billing cycle as more actual data is included.

In addition to their preferred method, SmartRate™ and Peak Day Pricing customers also receive alerts on their energy monitoring devices the day before and day of SmartDay™ and Peak Day Pricing events.

The info you see is in real-time. There may be a 15-60 second delay, depending on your energy-monitoring device and the SmartMeter™ at your location.

A kilowatt (kW) is a unit of power or the rate at which energy is used or generated. A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is a unit of energy equivalent to 1,000-watt hours, and is a common unit of measure utility for billing electric energy. As an analogy, if you were to fill a bucket with water from a hose, the rate at which the water flows from the hose into the bucket represents kW (power). The total amount of water in the bucket when finished represents the kWh (energy).

Occasionally a device loses connectivity to the SmartMeter™. The device attempts to reconnect automatically. If the connection is re-established, your electricity info displays as it typically does. If the device is unable to reconnect, please try the following activities before calling Customer Support:

• Ensure that the device is plugged in.
• If the device has been moved from where it was originally installed, move it back to its original location. If that doesn’t work, try moving the device closer to the SmartMeter™ (within 75 feet). The device is designed to reconnect to the SmartMeter™ automatically.
• Contact Stream My Data Customer Support if neither of these fixes work. For device-specific issues, please contact the device manufacturer.

If you are on an E1 rate, our most common residential energy rate, and recently connected your device, you will begin to see your Real-time Price and Real-time Electricity Cost after the start of your next billing cycle.

E6 or EVA customers will see Real-time Price 24 hours after connecting a device. If you are on one of these rates and do not see this info within 24 hours of successfully connecting the device, please contact Stream My Data Customer Support.

The info you see in your PG&E online account differs from that data displayed on your energy-monitoring device because these tools use different approaches and different calculation methods. Using an energy-monitoring device is the only way to see real-time electricity info, including all charges and discounts that are applied to the actual bill. Our goal at PG&E is to provide you with different options so you can choose the one that best suits your needs.

Your Real-time Price reflects changes depending on your tier or TOU period, or during a SmartDay™ or Peak Day Pricing event. The following Web pages have more info on plans. Visit Time-of-Use Plan or Tiered Based Plan

Occasionally, technical issues prevent info reception on your energy-monitoring device. Several attempts are made each day to send this data. Your Estimated Costs to Date and Estimated Electric Bill This Month are sent the following day with the most current info, if your data fails to send.

Your Estimated Electric Bill This Month is calculated based on your electricity consumption to-date and an estimate of energy that you will use through the rest of your billing cycle. If your usage varies significantly from week to week, your forecast may be less accurate. The Estimated Electric Bill This Month becomes more accurate over the course of the billing cycle as more actual data is included, and while we do our best to provide a realistic estimate, there is no way for us to predict exactly what your usage and resulting bill will be.

If you’re still looking for answers, contact Customer Support. To contact Stream My Data Customer Support, email us at StreamMyData@pge.com. You can also call 1-877-743-4357, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m-7 p.m.