What is Green Button data?

Green Button is a standard data format that gives Ontario electricity and natural gas customers two options. You can download your usage data yourself, or you can securely share it with an approved third party like a solar installer, energy auditor, or analytics platform.

It's backed by Ontario Regulation 633/21, which required most rate-regulated electricity and natural gas utilities in the province to offer Green Button by November 1, 2023. The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) oversees the program, and rollout was effectively complete across the province by late 2024.

There are two flavours that matter:

For solar, CMD is the better path. It's faster, more accurate, and you don't have to email an XML file you can't read.

Why Green Button data matters for your solar quote

Here's the part most homeowners don't realize. Most solar quotes in Canada are built on a single number: your annual kWh from one bill. That's it. One year, one row of data, one estimate.

That's a problem because it ignores:

• When you actually use power (peak vs. off-peak vs. ultra-low overnight)
• How your usage swings month to month (winter heating, summer AC, EV charging)
• What share of your usage falls during solar production hours (roughly 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
• Whether your usage profile makes a battery or a different rate plan worth the money

Green Button data shows all of it at hourly resolution. The result is a solar system sized to your actual usage shape, not a flat annual average.

What changes when Solar X has your Green Button data

In plain language: a more accurate quote up front, fewer surprises later, and a better-tuned system that actually delivers what your proposal promises. Try our Solar Calculator for a quick first estimate while you're at it.

How to request your Green Button data (Ontario)

Here's the process. Most homeowners get through it in under five minutes.

Direct links to Green Button portals by utility

If you want to start before requesting a quote, here are the major Ontario utility Green Button portals:

If your utility isn't listed, check your monthly bill or call them directly. Green Button compliance is mandatory for rate-regulated electricity and natural gas distributors in Ontario.

How Green Button data unlocks “max savings”

The phrase “max savings” gets thrown around a lot in solar marketing. Here's the concrete version of what Green Button actually unlocks.

Behind the scenes: how Solar X handles your data through Shift

To make Green Button work for homeowners at scale, Solar X partners with Shift, a Canadian solar company with a Green Button data integration that connects directly into our design platform.

Here's why that matters to you:

• Faster authorization.The Connect My Data flow is pre-built and tested for use across major Ontario utilities, so the link we send you works the first time.
• Standards-based security.Shift's integration is built around the same NAESB ESPI 3.3 standard the OEB requires for Green Button. Your data moves through that infrastructure, not a manual email chain.
• Cleaner data into the design.Hourly interval data flows directly into the platform our designers use, which means fewer transcription errors and faster proposal turnaround.
• Revocable any time.The authorization sits with you, in your utility portal. Pull it whenever you want.

Solar X's role is the system design, install, permits, ESA, utility interconnection, and ongoing service. Shift's role is providing the Green Button data plumbing that makes the whole thing fast and accurate.

Privacy and security: what to know before you authorize

• Green Button data is regulated.Utilities have to meet OEB-defined security and privacy standards before they can offer Green Button.
• You control the access.You can revoke a third party's authorization any time directly through your utility portal.
• The XML file itself contains no personal identifiers.Compliant Green Button files exclude addresses, account numbers, and meter numbers. Just usage data.
• Solar X uses your data only for system design and proposal modelling.We don't sell it, share it, or use it for anything beyond what you've authorized. See our Privacy Policy for the full terms.

Outside Ontario? Here's the equivalent path

Green Button is an Ontario regulation. Other provinces have their own utility data systems:

• Alberta. Most utilities (Epcor, Enmax, Direct Energy, ATCO) provide hourly usage data through their online customer portals. Download the available CSV or PDF and send it to Solar X. Alberta solar incentives.
• Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Power's MyAccount portal provides downloadable usage history. Nova Scotia solar.
• New Brunswick. NB Power's online portal provides usage data by billing period. New Brunswick solar.

In all cases, the goal is the same: get hourly or interval usage data into Solar X so we can size your system accurately. To make this seamless, Solar X works with Shift, whose data integration tools connect to Green Button portals and deliver your usage history straight into our design workflow. No XML wrangling on your end.

Frequently Asked Questions