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Utility On-Bill Financing: A Profile
May 13, 2013
E Source reviewed 38 on-bill financing packages offered by 30 separate program administrators to benchmark how they’re most commonly structured to balance competing goals.
Content type: Focus Report | Document ID: EDRP-F-47 | Author: Kate Drexler
NEW!
Pay-for-Performance Program Incentive Structures
May 3, 2013
Pay-for-performance programs provide incentives for whole-building energy efficiency in new construction and major retrofits, and they often include incentives for design assistance. The main difference is that incentives for new construction are paid based on modeled versus measured savings.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: EDRP-RB-54 | Author: Alexandra Behringer
NEW!
Quality Control Inspection Protocols
April 29, 2013
Having sound quality control (QC) mechanisms in place is critical for utilities that want to engender customers’ trust in their efficiency programs. In this report, we provide a snapshot of 10 utilities’ QC inspection protocols for residential retrofit programs.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: EDRP-RB-55 | Author: Kate Drexler
NEW!
Smart Thermostat Pilots and Programs
April 22, 2013
The latest round of smart thermostats has emerged onto the scene, with promises to provide energy savings for utilities and consumers and to enable smarter demand response. In just a few short years, more than 15 utilities are offering smart thermostat programs or are piloting programs.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: EDRP-RB-52 | Author: Rachel Reiss Buckley
Why Utilities Are Tending the Community Solar Garden
April 18, 2013
What do you get when you install solar panels on a locally sited facility or in a public area and let people buy "shares" in the system? Evidently you get a lot of green thumbs! This is precisely how community solar works, and its sprouting up all across North America.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: EDRP-RB-50 | Author: Andrea Salazar
Ain’t Misbehavin’: Residential Behavior-Change Vendors and Associated Energy Savings
April 10, 2013
Our meta-analysis of behavior-change vendors, products, and program results will help you navigate the residential landscape.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: EDRP-RB-51 | Author: Melanie Wemple, Dulcey Simpkins
UPDATED!
2011 DSM Achievements and Expenditures
December 14, 2012 | Updated: April 9, 2013
To find out how energy-efficiency and demand-response programs performed in 2011, E Source compiled the demand-side management (DSM) goals and achievements of 40 US and Canadian utilities into a downloadable Microsoft Excel workbook.
Content type: Focus Report | Document ID: EDRP-F-42 | Author: Melanie Wemple
UPDATED!
Changes in Residential Lighting Programs
What Happened in 2012, and What We Can Expect in the Near Term
December 24, 2012 | Updated: March 29, 2013
Lighting programs are in flux thanks to new technologies and evolving efficiency standards. The EISA phaseout of general-service incandescents is underway, and new lighting options are emerging. What are utilities and efficiency organizations doing now and planning for in the near future?
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: EDRP-RB-43 | Author: Alexandra Behringer
Repository of Publicly Available Technical Reference Manuals
January 3, 2012 | Updated: March 22, 2013
Where can I find a repository of demand-side management (DSM) deemed savings values or other measure-specific assumptions? Is there a national database with this information?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: EDRP-AskES-45 | Author: Todd Camnitz, Andrea Salazar
To Have or Have Not? A Review of Wireless Meter Opt-Out Policies
March 22, 2012 | Updated: March 7, 2013
Consumers are demanding alternatives to wireless meters, and state regulatory commissions and energy providers are issuing opt-out policies. It's likely that any utility deploying wireless meters will need an opt-out policy regardless of the size of the population projected to object to the meters.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: IGS-RB-14 | Author: Melanie Wemple
Residential Retrofit Programs: Providing Contractors with Performance Feedback
February 21, 2013
Most utilities and program implementers rely on a network of local contractors to implement their residential retrofit or home performance programs. But how do such programs create an effective feedback loop to ensure that their contractors are doing the best job possible?
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: EDRP-RB-46 | Author: Alexandra Behringer
Who Participates in Residential Energy-Efficiency Programs?
A Look at the Key Drivers
February 12, 2013
E Source’s investigation of energy-efficiency program participation drivers, based on one of the most robust sets of data in the industry, provides utilities with some of the tools and information necessary to achieve better marketing traction and to accelerate program participation.
Content type: Focus Report | Document ID: RES-F-48 | Author: Kim Burke, Rachel Cooper
Jumping In Midstream: Designing Effective Plug Load Programs for Retailers
February 11, 2013
Can utilities still get into the midstream plug load game to capitalize on these huge opportunities, and if so, how? After reviewing the evidence, E Source believes that opportunities still exist for utilities to launch midstream plug load programs.
Content type: Focus Report | Document ID: EDRP-F-45 | Author: Kate Drexler
HEAL Program: Employers Alleviate the Pain of Energy-Efficiency Financing
January 30, 2013
HEAL, a project of the Clinton Climate Initiative, was developed to facilitate commercial retrofits and, at the same time, help residents access capital for home energy improvements.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: RES-RB-24 | Author: Melanie Wemple
Stormy Weather’s Silver Lining: Opportunities to Accelerate Energy Efficiency After Disasters
January 30, 2013
Natural disasters have the potential to wreak massive financial damages to properties and unquantifiable emotional and personal losses, but program administrators at ground zero are uniquely poised to help victims rebuild or renovate their damaged homes and businesses to be more secure, affordable, and ...
Content type: Focus Report | Document ID: EDRP-F-46 | Author: Melanie Wemple, Rachel Reiss Buckley, Dulcey Simpkins
Incorporating Stakeholder Input into DSM Activities
January 22, 2013
This report presents some best practices for gathering public input for utility demand-side management programs, based primarily on case studies from Avista Utilities and Xcel Energy Colorado.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: EDRP-RB-45 | Author: Rachel Reiss Buckley
Boosting the Value of Efficiency with British Columbia’s Modified TRC
December 20, 2012
British Columbia has given energy efficiency a boost by adopting a modified Total Resource Cost test, which includes non-energy benefit adders and uses the avoided cost of clean generation for part of its portfolio. What can utilities with towering demand-side management goals learn from this development? ...
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: EDRP-RB-42 | Author: Dulcey Simpkins
Efficiency Beyond Widgets: Residential Behavioral Program Options
December 18, 2012
Behavior-change programs for the residential sector have proliferated rapidly over the past few years, evolving more quickly than virtually any other energy-efficiency program offering. What elements drive successful residential behavioral approaches?
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: RES-RB-46 | Author: Dulcey Simpkins
Roundup of Innovative DSM and Renewable Programs
November 21, 2012
The programs featured in this report take unique and creative approaches to getting electric and gas savings and to driving customers to invest in green energy.
Content type: Focus Report | Document ID: EDRP-F-44 | Author: Alexandra Behringer, Rachel Reiss Buckley, Kate Drexler, Adam Maxwell, Ti Mougne, Jonathan Nelson, Melanie Wemple
Getting Gas (Savings) from Small Businesses
October 31, 2012
Some demand-side management programs are finding ways to tap into gas savings from hard-to-reach small business customers by designing programs that are specifically tailored to them. This report examines the experiences of seven utilities.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: EDRP-RB-36 | Author: Kate Drexler
2010 U.S. Electric DSM Spending
An Analysis of DSM Spending Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration
October 31, 2012
One of the U.S. Energy Information Administration's core data collection initiatives is Form EIA-861, which includes demand-side management (DSM) portfolio expenditures. In 2010, 521 electric utilities reported aggregate DSM spending of $6.48 billion, up 23 percent from $5.28 billion in 2009.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: EDRP-RB-35 | Author: Jonathan Nelson
DSM Department Organization Structures
Reorganizations Enhance the Focus on Customers
October 10, 2012
As utility demand-side management (DSM) goals and budgets have increased in recent years, many utilities have turned to E Source to understand effective ways to organize DSM departments.
Content type: Focus Report | Document ID: EDRP-F-39 | Author: Alexandra Behringer
Encouraging Industrial Customers to "Opt In" to Efficiency
August 30, 2012
This report outlines a number of ways in which ratepayer-funded efficiency programs in the U.S. and Canada are responding to industrial customers’ needs by addressing some of their biggest concerns.
Content type: Focus Report | Document ID: EDRP-F-43 | Author: Kate Drexler
Hot or Not? DLC Program Benchmarking
Results from the 2012 E Source Direct Load Control Program Study
August 16, 2012
Have you ever wanted to compare your direct load control (DLC) program to those of other utilities, or needed critical information on DLC program best practices and strategies? This report meets both of those needs, providing the industy's most comprehensive look at DLC programs.
Content type: Focus Report | Document ID: EDRP-F-41 | Author: Jonathan Nelson, Rachel Reiss Buckley
DSM Budget Breakdown
Benchmarking DSM Budgets
June 20, 2012
This report examines how demand-side management (DSM) budgets are allocated to the major budget categories—administrative; marketing; incentives; and evaluation, measurement, and verification (EM&V)—as well as to customer sectors such as residential, low income, and comercial and industrial ...
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: EDRP-RB-34 | Author: Kate Drexler
The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards
Potential Impacts on Grid Reliability and Electricity Prices
May 14, 2012
Are we really headed for a "train wreck" with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS)? This report will help energy managers and other energy-industry analysts assess their organizations' exposure to the issues related to MATS.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: EMN-RB-5 | Author: Jonathan Nelson
How to Choose the Optimal DSM Tracking System
Results from an E Source Roundtable Discussion
May 11, 2012
In February 2012, E Source convened a roundtable web conference with representatives from Long Island Power Authority, National Grid, and Southern California Edison to learn how they selected and implemented DSM tracking systems. This report shares their strategies and lessons learned.
Content type: Focus Report | Document ID: EDRP-F-40 | Author: Alexandra Behringer
Managing the Uncertainty of Modeling in New Construction Programs
April 20, 2012
Because utility new construction programs rely on building models to forecast future energy use for incentive payments, program managers must learn to mitigate the uncertainty around future building energy performance.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: EDRP-RB-23 | Author: Douglas Baston, Rachel Reiss Buckley
Net Versus Gross Savings: Who's Doing What and Why?
April 17, 2012
Discover which states are using net versus gross savings and learn the rationale for the use of gross savings (that is, not accounting for free-ridership or spillover when reporting on program results). Recent examples illustrate trend away from using net savings for some reporting purposes.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: EDRP-RB-25 | Author: Dulcey Simpkins
Do They Qualify? Trade Ally Screening Practices
April 16, 2012
Trade allies frequently help deliver efficiency programs. See how efficiency program administrators make sure trade allies are qualified to participate.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: EDRP-RB-24 | Author: Todd Camnitz and Kim Burke
