No. Although installation of the Peak Partners thermostat requires that the thermostat be linked to your Wi-Fi system for communications purposes, the password is not retained or shared with any other party. The thermostat uses the "XMPP protocol" to enable your PC and mobile device access, as well as to communicate back to the Utilities. The XMPP protocol is widely used by Instant Messaging (IM) services. In the same way that your IM provider does not know your Wi-Fi password, Fort Collins Utilities does not know your Wi-Fi password.

No. The data collected does not indicate whether or not people are present in their homes. The thermostat only collects temperature settings, indoor temperature, thermostat operation mode (heat, cool) and HVAC run-time. The "Vacation" and "Away" functions are locally controlled by the thermostat and are not shared with Fort Collins Utilities.

The thermostat collects information on temperature settings, indoor temperature, thermostat operation mode (heat, cool) and HVAC run-time. This data is securely transmitted back to Utilities. The thermostat does not collect information on the occupancy of the home.

If you opt out of the program, in order to keep the thermostat, the same information as described in "What data is collected?" above will continue to be gathered.

The data will be kept for a minimum of two years. One of the outcomes of this initial phase of Peak Partners will be to determine the maximum length of time that data will be retained.

Utilities' staff analyzes this data to refine the Peak Partners program and optimize benefits to both participants and the utility system.

No. The collected data will not be sold to any third party.

Fort Collins Utilities takes data privacy very seriously and complies with local, state and federal laws to protect our customers' personal data and information. All customer information - including personal data, utility use and more - are strictly protected. Fort Collins Utilities is subject to the Colorado Open Records Act and Fort Collins Municipal Code §26-26, which govern the accessibility of public records. Utilities is also subject to the Red Flags Rules of the FACT Act (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003), which requires creditors to create and implement a program to detect, prevent and mitigate identity theft.