On the 30th and 31st of August the REScoop PLUS team got together for an expert meeting and team meeting in Utrecht. During that meeting, we will implement a new dissemination plan to help an easier access to all the information on the project. From now on, you can like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. You can also know more about our news, thanks to the REScoop.eu website where we will publish news every month.
There is news in the world of data privacy, has the EU just passed a new directive and a new regulation that will regulate the way we will use personal data. Our energy world is becoming more and more integrated, with new smart systems, and energy saving is one of the area where technology has the most to bring us. The regulation 2016/679 of the 27th of April 2016, will bring forward some new features to protect the personal data and standardize its processing, while the Directive 2016/680 will reinforce the sanctions around the protection of personal data:
- Data will be able to travel, without restrictions, between the borders of the EU. This is another step in the implementation of the Digital Single Market Strategy
- Data portability will be improved too, thanks to this legislation with the obligation to simply the process of portability between services
- The consumer will be guaranteed a clear and easy access to their data
- The right to be forgotten will be enforced, in order for each European citizen to be protected from long term damage
- The information regarding a security breach and failure must be reported immediately
- A clear and affirmative consent will be required to collect and share personal data
- And finally data protection is now required to be integrated at the earliest stages of an innovation development, each now service will need to have “data protection by design” and “by default”
The main advantages of this new legislation are:
- To create a level playing in Europe by making the legal environment more homogeneous
- To remove barriers between the states of the EU and encourage cross-country exchanges
- There will be the creation of a one-stop-shop for the enforcement of those legislation, which will greatly simplify our dealings with the authorities
This new legislation will definitely change the way to conceive data protection. And as we will need to use more and more personalized data to help and track energy consumption, this will impact us too. Therefore we applaud this new regulation that will simplify greatly our lives and the development of energy sobriety in the European REScoops. In the meantime, The REScoop PLUS team is working on tools that will bring all of us forward in our understanding and management of our consumption. Check out some of our current initiatives here.
REScoop.eu is the Federation of European Renewable Energy Cooperatives. We are a growing network of 1.240 REScoops and 650.000 European citizens who wish to make their voices heard in the European energy debate. We are taking action to support energy democracy, and to put the energy transition back in the hands of citizen’s.
In REScoop PLUS, we are responsible for legal support and dissemination. Throughout the project, we will work to provide standard guidelines to support the legal implementation of energy efficiency measures in our REScoops. Our engagement is to make it simple and secure to implement the energy efficiency toolkit developed by the REScoop PLUS team.
Thank you for following us, and see you next month with some news about Energie Efficiency and Energie Savings.
All the best,
The REScoop PLUS team