Download or read book Ratepayer funded Energy efficiency Programs in a Restructured Electricity Industry written by Joseph H. Eto and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ratepayer funded Energy efficiency Programs in a Restructured Electricity Industry written by and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 23 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Regulated utilities have, in the past, been responsible for {open_quotes}Public purpose{close_quotes} programs that contribute to the general social good, such as energy-efficiency programs. In several states, continuation of these programs has become a critical issue in forging the consensus required to proceed with restructuring. As a result of reviewing the restructuring process in several states, we expect this trend to continue, but do not believe a single, generic approach can or should be defined. Instead, we expect a variety of solutions based on considerations unique to individual states or regions. To help structure these discussions in states struggling with this issue, we pose a series of questions and describe a range of possible answers: (1) We encourage state public utility commissions and legislatures to provide clear guidance on goals. (2) Close attention to the primary objectives for energy efficiency is important because the objectives influence the choices of programs and activities to be supported. (3) We advocate that states adopt a pragmatic approach to resolving the potentially contentious issue of determining whether or not utilities should continue to have primary responsibility for program administration, management, and design. The approach we propose involves assessing a utility's past performance, its cur-rent commitment to energy-efficiency activities, and the potential conflicts of interest presented, if the utility retains a central role in administering energy-efficiency programs after restructuring. (4) A state should first assess policy options to mitigate adverse incentives and conflicts of interest in the utility before examining the possibility of having a non-utility entity assume responsibility for designing and managing energy-efficiency activities. (5) If a state does pursue non-utility administration for ratepayer-funded energy-efficiency programs, explicit attention must be paid to governance and accountability issues.
Download or read book Ratepayer funded Energy efficiency Programs in a Restructuredelectri City Industry written by and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Electric industry restructuring requires state regulators and legislators to re-examine the purposes served by and the continuing need for ratepayer-funded energy-efficiency programs, as well as the mechanisms to collect funds for these programs and the institutions appropriate to administer them. This paper offers background to these issues and a series of recommendations based on analysis of recent state experiences. Our recommendations are summarized.
Download or read book Who Should Administer Energy Efficiency Programs written by Charles Goldman and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 5 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The restructuring of the electric utility industry in the US created a crisis in the administration of ratepayer-funded energy-efficiency programs. Before restructuring, nearly all energy-efficiency programs in the US were administered by utilities and funded from utility rates. Restructuring called these arrangements into question in two ways. First, the separation of generation from transmission and distribution undermined a key rationale for utility administration. This was the Integrated Resource Planning approach in which the vertically integrated utility was given incentives to provide energy services at least cost. Second, questions were raised as to whether funding through utility rates could be sustained in a competitive environment and most states that restructured their electricity industry adopted a system benefits charge. The crisis in administration of energy-efficiency programs produced a variety of responses in the eight years since restructuring in the US began in earn est. These responses have included new rationales for energy-efficiency programs, new mechanisms for funding programs, and new mechanisms for program administration and governance. This paper focuses on issues related to program administration. It describes the administrative functions and some of the options for accomplishing them. Then it discusses criteria for choosing among the options. Examples are given that highlight some of the states that have made successful transitions to new governance and/or administration structures. Attention is also given to California where large-scale energy-efficiency programs have continued to operate, despite the fact that many of the key governance/administration issues remain unresolved. The conclusion attempts to summarize lessons learned.
Download or read book The Shifting Landscape of Ratepayer Funded Energy Efficiency in the U S written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last two decades, utility ratepayer funding for energy efficiency programs - and the associated energy savings - has seen both booms and busts. Currently, about 35 states implement ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs, with a total U.S. budget of $3.1 billion in 2008, approximately 80% of which is concentrated in just ten states (CEE 2008).2 However, a proliferation of new state-level policies enacted over the past several years suggests that the next decade may see a dramatic and sustained increase in overall funding levels, and a fundamental re-drawing of the energy efficiency map. These new state energy efficiency policies reflect a variety of concerns, including the increasing cost and siting challenges of building new generation and transmission, fuel cost and supply risks, and the potential cost of future carbon regulations. Within the past three years, for example, eleven states have adopted energy efficiency portfolio (or resource) standards (EEPS or EERS) that establish specific long-term savings targets that utilities are obligated to meet, and at least three other states are currently considering the same. A growing number of states have recently established laws requiring utilities to acquire all available cost-effective energy efficiency. Regulators in several Western states have also recently revised integrated resource planning (IRP) and demand-side management (DSM) planning rules to require more robust analysis of the resource potential and benefits of energy efficiency, which has resulted in increased savings targets for their energy efficiency portfolios (Hopper et al. 2008). Finally, regulators and utilities in many states are beginning to look more closely at regulatory incentive mechanisms to better align utility financial interests with improvements in customer energy efficiency. We examined energy efficiency policies on the books or in the pipeline in all 50 states, along with recent IRPs and DSM plans, and developed low, medium and high projections of future energy efficiency spending and savings. Depending on how aggressively and effectively states implement these policies, we estimate that spending on ratepayer-funded energy efficiency could increase from $3.1 billion in 2008 to more than $12 billion (nominal dollars) per year by 2020 in our high case, a growth rate in spending of about 12% per year. Annual electricity savings nationally could triple from an estimated 0.3% of retail electricity sales in 2008 to 0.9% of retail electricity sales in 2020. In the low and medium scenarios, ratepayer funding for electric and gas energy efficiency in the U.S. would increase to $5.4 and $7.5 billion, respectively, by 2020. What are the implications of such a scale-up of ratepayer-funded energy efficiency activity for national energy policy, such as a national EEPS or future carbon regulations? Can a ramp-up of this scale be achieved, and what practical constraints might slow these efforts? This paper addresses these questions by first providing an overview of recent trends in state policies pertaining to ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs in the U.S. The paper then presents our set of projections of future spending and savings from such programs, highlighting key themes. Projected energy savings are compared to what might be required under a future national EEPS (or broader clean energy standard that includes energy efficiency), in order to gauge the potential incremental impact of such policies. In addition, the carbon emission reductions associated with our projection of energy savings from ratepayer-funded programs is compared to the total emission reductions that might be required under the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (aka, the Waxman-Markey bill), which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2009 and would establish a cap on total greenhouse gas emission for many sectors of the U.S. economy. Last, the paper discusses some of the major obstacles and challenges that states and program administrators may face over the coming decade, as they seek to dramatically ramp-up ratepayer-funded energy efficiency program activity, as projected.
Download or read book Sustained Energy Savings Achieved Through Successful Industrial Customer Interaction with Ratepayer Programs written by and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many states have implemented ratepayer-funded programs to acquire energy efficiency as a predictable and reliable resource for meeting existing and future energy demand. These programs have become a fixture in many U.S. electricity and natural gas markets as they help postpone or eliminate the need for expensive generation and transmission investments. Industrial energy efficiency (IEE) is an energy efficiency resource that is not only a low cost option for many of these efficiency programs, but offers productivity and competitive benefits to manufacturers as it reduces their energy costs. However, some industrial customers are less enthusiastic about participating in these programs. IEE ratepayer programs suffer low participation by industries across many states today despite a continual increase in energy efficiency program spending across all types of customers, and significant energy efficiency funds can often go unused for industrial customers. This paper provides four detailed case studies of companies that benefited from participation in their utility's energy efficiency program offerings and highlights the business value brought to them by participation in these programs. The paper is designed both for rate-payer efficiency program administrators interested in improving the attractiveness and effectiveness of industrial efficiency programs for their industrial customers and for industrial customers interested in maximizing the value of participating in efficiency programs.
Download or read book Who Should Deliver Ratepayer Funded Energy Efficiency written by Richard Sedano and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines policy options and approaches for the administration and implementation of ratepayer funded electric utility energy efficiency programs.
Download or read book Energy Efficiency Collaboratives written by State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Collaboratives for energy efficiency have a long and successful history and are currently used, in some form, in more than half of the states. Historically, many state utility commissions have used some form of collaborative group process to resolve complex issues that emerge during a rate proceeding. Rather than debate the issues through the formality of a commission proceeding, disagreeing parties are sent to discuss issues in a less-formal setting and bring back resolutions to the commission. Energy efficiency collaboratives take this concept and apply it specifically to energy efficiency programs--often in anticipation of future issues as opposed to reacting to a present disagreement. Energy efficiency collaboratives can operate long term and can address the full suite of issues associated with designing, implementing, and improving energy efficiency programs. Collaboratives can be useful to gather stakeholder input on changing program budgets and program changes in response to performance or market shifts, as well as to provide continuity while regulators come and go, identify additional energy efficiency opportunities and innovations, assess the role of energy efficiency in new regulatory contexts, and draw on lessons learned and best practices from a diverse group. Details about specific collaboratives in the United States are in the appendix to this guide. Collectively, they demonstrate the value of collaborative stakeholder processes in producing successful energy efficiency programs.
Download or read book Who Should Administer Energy Efficiency Programs written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 5 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The restructuring of the U.S. electricity industry created a crisis for ratepayer-funded energy-efficiency programs. This paper briefly describes the reasons for the crisis and some of its consequences. Then the paper focuses on issues related to program administration and discusses the relative merits of entities-utilities, state agencies, and non-profit corporations-that might be administrators. Four criteria are developed for choosing among program administration options: Compatibility with public policy goals, effectiveness of the incentive structure, ability to realize economies of scale and scope, and contribution to the development of an energy-efficiency infrastructure. We examine one region, the Pacific Northwest, and three states, New York, Vermont, and Connecticut, which have made successful transitions to new governance and/or administration structures. Attention is also given to California where large-scale energy-efficiency programs have continued to operate, despite the fact that many of the key governance/administration issues remain unresolved. We observe that no single administrative structure for energy-efficiency programs has yet emerged in the US that is clearly superior to all of the other alternatives. We conclude that this is not likely to happen soon for three reasons. First, policy environments differ significantly among the states. Second, the structure and regulation of the electric utility industry differs among the regions of the US. Third, market transformation and resource acquisition, two program strategies that were once seen as alternatives, are increasingly coming to be seen as complements. Energy-efficiency programs going forward are likely to include elements of both strategies. But, the administrative arrangements that are best suited to support market transformation may be different from the arrangements that are best for resource acquisition.
Download or read book A National Survey of State Policies and Practices for the Evaluation of Ratepayer funded Energy Efficiency Programs written by Martin Kushler and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Broadly stated, the purpose of this project is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the current "state of the practice" of utility-sector energy efficiency program evaluation across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Toward that end, we have conducted a detailed survey of all states with active utility ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs in order to establish an up-to-date database on how each state is handling various aspects of energy program evaluation and the reporting of results"--Page 2.
Download or read book A National Survey of State Policies and Practices for the Evaluation of Ratepayer funded Energy Efficiency Programs written by Martin Kushler and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Broadly stated, the purpose of this project is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the current "state of the practice" of utility-sector energy efficiency program evaluation across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Toward that end, we have conducted a detailed survey of all states with active utility ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs in order to establish an up-to-date database on how each state is handling various aspects of energy program evaluation and the reporting of results"--P. 2.
Download or read book Cost Effectiveness of Electricity Energy Efficiency Programs written by Toshi H. Arimura and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 45 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We analyze the cost-effectiveness of electric utility ratepayer-funded programs to promote demand-side management (DSM) and energy efficiency (EE) investments. We specify a model that relates electricity demand to previous EE DSM spending, energy prices, income, weather, and other demand factors. In contrast to previous studies, we allow EE DSM spending to have a potential long-term demand effect and explicitly address possible endogeneity in spending. We find that current period EE DSM expenditures reduce electricity demand and that this effect persists for a number of years. Our findings suggest that ratepayer funded DSM expenditures between 1992 and 2006 produced a central estimate of 0.9 percent savings in electricity consumption over that time period and a 1.8 percent savings over all years. These energy savings came at an expected average cost to utilities of roughly 5 cents per kWh saved when future savings are discounted at a 5 percent rate.
Download or read book The Effect of State Level Funding on Energy Efficiency Outcomes written by Anna Downs and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Increasingly, states are formalizing energy efficiency policies. In 2010, states required utilities to budget $5.5 billion through ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs, investing in both electricity and natural gas programs. However the size and spread of energy efficiency programs was strikingly different from state to state. This paper examines how far each dollar of state-level energy efficiency funding goes in producing efficiency gains. Many states have also pursued innovative policy actions to conserve electricity. Measures of policy effort are also included in this study, along with average electricity prices. The only variable that is consistently correlated with energy usage intensity across all models is electricity price. As politicians at local, state, and Federal levels continue to push for improved energy efficiency, the models in this paper provide a convincing impetus for focusing on strategies that raise energy prices.
Download or read book Saving Energy in Industrial Companies written by Robert P. Taylor and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 57 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Developed as a product of the State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network (SEE Action), facilitated by the U.S. Department of Energy/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Download or read book The Potential Effect of Electric Industry Restructuring and Regulatory Choices on Utility DSM Programs written by Michael Messenger and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Examining the Net Savings Issue written by Martin Kushler and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 89 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this report is to examine and document what states are doing in actual practice, in terms of their decision making regarding the issue of net savings of energy from the implementation of energy efficiency programs.
