This post is co-authored by Sara Boztepe and Vowtez Wrather, two of Tango’s sustainability and energy data analysts with deep expertise in utility data acquisition, smart-meter enablement, and enterprise energy management. They support organizations in closing the utility data gap by building the governance, relationships, and processes needed to secure decision-grade data. Their work with over 70 utilities across the U.S. equips our customers with the reliable data foundation required for decarbonization, cost optimization, and long-term resilience.
Every organization racing toward electrification, decarbonization, or more efficient operations knows that utility data is one of their most valuable assets. And with the rise of smart meters, it finally feels possible for the data to tell the full story. These meters can flag inefficiencies before they spike your bill, predict equipment issues, strengthen reporting, and transform the customer experience.
But for many companies, that promise hits a wall.
Smart meter data often arrives late, fragmented, or wrapped in formats only a data engineer could love. And that gap—the stubborn distance between what data exists and what organizations can actually use—is one of the biggest hurdles in modern energy management.
So, how do you bridge it?
Start With the Foundation: Making Data Actually Useful
Most organizations collect data from dozens of sources, each with its own structure and quirks. Before insights can flow, chaos has to be tamed.
A standardized data pipeline is the first real breakthrough. When all utility data funnels into a single, clean, validated system, everything changes:
- Baseload anomalies pop out instantly
- Forecasts get sharper
- Reporting stops feeling like detective work
- Customers and occupants finally understand their own energy usage
But none of that happens without removing friction. Smooth authorization workflows, consistent meter readings, reusable integrations, and strong internal alignment turn a messy experience into a predictable, scalable process.
Security and compliance are the backbone of this work. Utilities move faster when they know data is handled responsibly, and organizations move smarter when business, technical, and sustainability teams operate from the same playbook.
Improving Utility Data Integration Through Better Governance
The biggest misconception is that success is just about having the right API or the right engineering muscle.
In reality, it starts with governance and relationships.
Utilities operate under strict regulatory and procedural rules: rules that shape how and when they can share data. Organizations that show up prepared, provide complete documentation, and understand utility constraints consistently move faster.
A clear governance model keeps momentum alive:
- Defined roles
- Standard data-request procedures
- Quality checks
- Repeatable onboarding scripts and workflows
When these elements are in place, engagement becomes predictable instead of painful.
Faster Utility Data Is a Shared Effort
Even with the best systems in place, utility onboarding is a shared endeavor, and clients play a critical role in how quickly things get moving. Complete documentation, including LOAs, EINs, bill copies, and accurate meter lists, can reduce onboarding timelines by 30–50%. When documentation is incomplete, the opposite happens: back-and-forth communication increases, approvals stall, and preventable delays can stretch for months.
Our experience working with more than 70 U.S. utilities across investor-owned utilities, cooperatives, and municipalities reveals consistent patterns behind both speed and friction. Manual approval steps and inconsistent data formats are predictable bottlenecks. Metadata quality, particularly meter-to-location mapping, often determines whether forecasting and reporting succeed or fail. Teams that understand and speak the “utility language” move faster and earn credibility more quickly, and strong, established relationships almost always shorten timelines.
Together, these lessons underscore a simple truth: faster access to utility data isn’t just about technology—it’s about preparation, collaboration, and alignment on both sides.
The Bottom Line
Smart meters hold enormous promise, but raw data alone won’t get organizations to better forecasting, lower demand charges, or real progress toward electrification and decarbonization.
Bridging the utility data gap requires:
- A unified data infrastructure
- Clear governance
- Strong utility relationships
- Customer trust and transparency
- Scalable automation
When these pieces click into place, organizations don’t just gain access to data, they gain powerful insights and the ability to act on them.
Close the Utility Data Gap with Tango Energy & Sustainability
The utility data gap isn’t just inconvenient, it slows your ability to forecast, budget, decarbonize, and operate efficiently. Manual processes, scattered spreadsheets, and inconsistent utility formats make it nearly impossible to get clean, actionable insights at scale.
Tango Energy & Sustainability brings all of your utility, meter, billing, and emissions data into a single system that standardizes inputs, automates validation, and transforms raw utility data into decision-ready intelligence. No more chasing files, reformatting intervals, or rebuilding workflows—just accurate, real-time visibility into the performance of your portfolio.
Ready to unlock the full value of your utility data?
