Privacy Policy

The California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”, “We” or “Us”), operator of the Energy Upgrade California website (“Site”), is committed to promoting and protecting the privacy rights of individuals as enumerated in Article 1 of the California Constitution, the Information Practices Act of 1977, the Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6250 et seq.), Government Code Sections 11015.5 and 11019.9 and other applicable laws pertaining to information privacy.

This document will outline our privacy practices, including how we collect and utilize information obtained, as they pertain to visitors to and users of our Site. It also describes the choices available to you regarding our use of your information and how you can opt out of having your information collected. By using or accessing the Site, you consent to the terms of this Privacy Policy. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY YOU MAY NOT ACCESS OR OTHERWISE USE THE SITE.

Information Collection:

1. We limit the collection of personal information to what is relevant and necessary to accomplish the lawful purposes of the Energy Upgrade California website. Personal information, as defined in the Information Practices Act, is information that identifies or describes an individual including, but not limited to, name, Social Security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters and medical or employment history.

2. Energy Upgrade California is supported by an alliance of the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Energy Commission, utilities, regional energy networks, local governments, community choice aggregators, businesses and nonprofits to assist communities in meeting state and local energy and climate action goals. Our funding comes from investor-owned energy utility customers under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission and the California Energy Commission, including Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, SoCalGas, Bay Area Regional Energy Network, the Energy Network and MCE Clean Energy. Your personal information may be shared with any of these alliance partners for the purpose of promoting the mission and program of Energy Upgrade California.

3. We may automatically collect non-personally identifiable information, such as the domain name or Internet Protocol address that relates to the machine used to access the website, the type of browser and operating system used, the date and time when the website is visited, web pages displayed, and any forms that are uploaded. Please note that we may use third party service providers to help operate and provide services in connection with our Site. These third party service providers may collect personally-identifiable information from our Site as well solely for the purpose of administering our programs and not for their own marketing purposes.
Personal identifiable information collected through the short code/SMS program will not be shared, sold, or rented to affiliated or unaffiliated third parties for their own marketing purposes.

4. We may use session cookies in some areas of this website to improve the overall usability of the Site. Cookies are small text files placed on your computer, often without your knowledge, while visiting certain sites on the Internet used to identify your computer. For example, cookies are used by some sites to greet you personally, to post a list of your favorite books to purchase, to remember what you had in your shopping basket the last time you visited. On this website, a temporary cookie may be placed on your computer for certain applications such as online complaint forms which can be sent electronically. The session cookies are used to facilitate the interaction between you and the fields in the form. The cookies are not used to collect or store information about you and do not track you if you return to our website. The cookie is temporary and will be deleted when you exit your browser. You can prevent cookies from being placed on your computer by accessing your browser’s preferences menu and deleting existing cookies. There also are commercial programs available to help you manage cookies. Before taking such steps, you should be aware that some websites may not work properly if you choose to block the placement of cookies on your computer. You will need to decide whether enabling cookies outweighs privacy concerns.

5. We strive to tell people who provide personal information through the Energy Upgrade California website the purpose for which the information is collected and the general uses that we will make of that information.

6. We use personal information for the specified purposes by the Energy Upgrade California website, purposes consistent with those purposes or as otherwise authorized by law or regulation. However, the California Public Records Act exists to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to have access to appropriate records and information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are exceptions in both state and federal law to the public’s right to access public records. These exceptions serve various needs including maintaining the privacy of individuals. In the event of a conflict between this Policy and the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act or other law governing the disclosure of records, the applicable law will control.

Security:

We have undertaken and will undertake commercially reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized Internet access to user data retained in our servers; however, due to the inherent open nature of the Internet, Company cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information provided online. We retain your personal information, if provided by you through the Site, for as long as your inquiry is active (as determined by us) and for a reasonable time thereafter, or if applicable, for as long as you remain on our contact list. Even if we delete some or all of your personal information, we may continue to retain and use aggregate, anonymous data previously collected and/or anonymize and aggregate your personal information. Please note that we will not be liable for disclosures of your data due to errors or unauthorized acts of third parties.

Information Relating to Children:

Our Site is designed for those 18 years of age and older. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under the age of 13. If we are made aware that we have received such information, or any information in violation of our policy, we will use reasonable efforts to locate and remove that information from our records.

Links to Third Party Sites and/or Social Media Platforms:

Our Site may contain links to other websites or apps. Other websites or apps may also reference or link to our Site. Some of our third-party website or technology partners may place their own cookies and/or other data collection tools on your Internet browser; however, we have no access to or control over these cookies and/or other data collection tools. These other domains, websites and/or apps are not controlled by us. We encourage our users to read the privacy policies of each and every website and app that they interact with. We do not endorse, screen or approve, and are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of such other websites or apps. Visiting these other websites or apps is at your own risk.

Our Site may also contain links to social media platforms, and you may be given the choice of connecting to one or more social media platforms from this Site. If you choose to do so, then depending upon your social media privacy settings, the personal information that you post, transmit, or otherwise make available on the social media platform may be viewed and/or used by others and we will have no control over such viewing and use. We do not control and are not responsible for any use of your personally identifiable information (“PII”) by or through any of the social media platforms. By linking to any social media platform, you will be assuming the risk that the PII you provide on that platform may be viewed and/or used by third parties for any purposes and agree that we have no control or responsibility for such third party viewing and uses.

Policy Modifications:

We reserve the right, at our discretion, to modify, add, or remove portions from this policy at any time. However, if at any time in the future we plan to use any data in a way that materially differs from this policy, we will post such changes here. We encourage you to periodically review the Site for the latest information on our privacy practices.

Opt Out:

We use reasonable processes to ensure compliance with this privacy policy and periodically verify that the policy is accurate. To opt out of any future promotional messages from us, if applicable, you should send an unsubscribe request to us at [email protected]. We will process your request within a reasonable time after receipt. However, we are not responsible for removing your personal information from the lists of any third party who has previously been provided with your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy or your consent.

Comments and Questions:

We encourage you to raise any concerns using the contact information provided below, and we will investigate and attempt to resolve any complaints and disputes regarding use and disclosure of information. You may also request access to your personal information (if you have provided personal information to us through the Site) and information about our collection, use and disclosure of that information by using the contact information provided below. Subject to certain exceptions prescribed by law, you will be given reasonable access to your personal information, entitlement to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information, and the ability to have it amended as is appropriate. You can help us maintain the accuracy of your information by notifying us of any changes to your personal information.

California Public Utilities Commission

ATTN: Privacy Officer

505 Van Ness

San Francisco, CA 94102

Jurisdiction:

Our Site is maintained in the United States of America. By using the Site, you authorize the export of your information to the State of California, USA, and its storage and use as specified in this policy. You understand that data stored in the USA may be subject to lawful requests by the courts or law enforcement authorities in the State of California, USA.

Effective Date:

This policy is effective January 1, 2018. We reserve the right, at our discretion, to modify, add, or remove portions from this policy at any time. However, if at any time in the future we plan to use any data in a way that materially differs from this policy, we will post such changes here. We encourage you to periodically review the Site for the latest information on our privacy practices.