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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

NMPC’s High Efficiency Motors and Adjustable Speed Drives program offers rebates to commercial and industrial customers to promote the installation of high efficiency motors and adjustable speed drives in the short term and ultimately transform the market for these devices. While all commercial and industrial customers are eligible for the program, NMPC has concentrated its efforts on large industrial customers with long hours of operation and/or varying motor loads.

Recommendations to potential program participants are often made through NMPC’s Energy Audits program. If the Energy Audit identifies opportunities to install or replace motors and adjustable speed drives, the NMPC representative helps with identifying retrofit opportunities and locating the appropriate equipment vendors. The NMPC representative also assists with development of a sales proposal to facilitate the decision to install high efficiency motors or adjustable speed drives.

One of the most important lessons learned by NMPC is that participation levels can be stimulated by changing rebate amounts. In 1992 NMPC increased the rebate levels for the program substantially over their 1991 levels, especially for motors in the 10 to 150 horsepower (hp) range. For example, the rebate in 1991 for a 125 hp motor with a minimum nominal efficiency of 95% was $457. In 1992 the rebate amount for the same motor was $1,200. The increased rebate levels were highly successful in enhancing participation rates, so much so that NMPC decreased the 1993 rebate schedule which went into effect in September of 1992. Rebate applications pre-approved prior to that date and installed before the end of the year were eligible for the higher rebate levels, and many customers took advantage of the situation. As a result, energy savings accrued during the last two months of 1992 represent nearly half of all the net savings the program achieved over the two years it has been offered.

The High-Efficiency Motors and Adjustable Speed Drives program has achieved total annual savings of 76.0 GWh and lifecycle savings of 1,140.7 GWh in the two years 1991 and 1992. Total summer coincident peak demand reductions have been 1.4 MW and total winter coincident peak demand reductions have been 1.5 MW for the period 1991 to 1992. To achieve these savings levels, NMPC spent a total of $5.34 million on the program.

To NMPC’s credit, the High Efficiency Motors and Adjustable Speed Drives Program has been remarkably cost effective. The Results Center calculates that the cost of saved energy, based on a measure lifetime of 15 years, decreased between the first and second years of the program, from 1.05¢/kWh in 1991 to 0.68¢/kWh in 1992 at a 5% real discount rate.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The nation’s first compact fluorescent lamp leasing program was pioneered in Taunton, Massachusetts in 1988 and named Smartlight. The Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant (TMLP) had an innovative idea: To lease energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps to customers for 20 cents per month, thus overcoming high customer purchase costs, the number one obstacle to the purchase of energy-efficient equipment. For the utility, leasing lamps delays the need for any additional generating capacity and provides customers with a value-added service, or what now has become known as energy services.

Taunton launched the Smartlight program in 1988 for residential customers, and then in 1989, after proving the value of Smartlight, launched a parallel and far more aggressive component for its commercial and industrial sectors called Lightwaves. Lightwaves participants pay a fee of 10-40¢/month per lighting fixture for five years to cover approximately 25% of the gross program cost.

Since both programs were truly revolutionary and in some ways ahead of their time, Taunton had to shoulder the task of educating its customers about advances in energy-efficient lighting at the same time that it was recruiting participants for the program. A direct mailer was effectively used for Smartlight. The tri-fold mailer included an actual size cutout of a Philips SL*18 compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) which allowed customers to make sure that the rather large CFLs fit in desired sockets. It also presented the economics of replacing incandescents with CFLs in simple terms.

For its commercial and industrial customers, Taunton offers a turnkey service -- from audits, to personalized consultation, to no up-front cost installations backed by the utility. Taunton also offers Lightwaves participants a public relations program which alerts local and regional media to the energy conservation efforts of program participants. Taunton portrays program participants as vital, contributing "corporate citizens," helping to keep the community’s energy costs low.

To date, the Smartlight program has accounted for total annual energy savings of 322.36 MWh. In terms of total cumulative energy savings the program has accrued 1,310.93 MWh as of December 1992. The 121 completed jobs through the Lightwaves program have accounted for cumulative energy savings of 6,967.74 MWh and peak coincident demand savings of 2.2 MW.

Since its inception in 1988 the Smartlight program has cost a total of $140,530 minus Smartlight income of $43,890 for a net total program cost of $96,640. Taunton has spent a gross of $1,997,850 on the 121 Lightwaves projects that have been completed. The projected income from the measures installed through Lightwaves as of December 1992, is $574,140, or 29% of the program’s costs including equipment.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Rock Valley Energy Efficiency Research Project (RVEERP) sponsored by Midwest Resources is a comprehensive DSM program designed to demonstrate the potential of a community-based approach to influence the energy consumption of an entire community. The program addresses technological, financial, social, regulatory, energy-efficiency, and research goals.

RVEERP is being implemented in Rock Valley, a town with a population of about 3,000 located in northwest Iowa. All of the town’s residents, businesses, and industries are eligible to take advantage of the program’s offerings regardless of whether their primary heating fuel is electricity or gas. Implementation of RVEERP was done in three basic steps. First, customers were invited to schedule an Energy Study and the study was performed and results explained to the customer. Second, customers could participate in any of four financial incentive programs: rebates, no-interest loans, appliance trade-in, or maintenance coupons. Third, Energy Study participants were offered the opportunity to have free blower door tests performed.

The centerpiece of RVEERP’s monitoring plan is the installation of Metricom two-way communicating meters at every electric and gas meter in the town of Rock Valley. The meters are capable of transmitting electricity and gas use data and can provide information for load research, distribution automation, direct load control, rate experiments, and customer feedback.

RVEERP’s annual savings have been estimated in several ways. First, staff determined the potential savings that could be realized in Rock Valley if 100% of the population installed 100% of the measures recommended in the Energy Studies. Because so much of the energy savings in Rock Valley are through natural gas, RVEERP converted the electricity and gas savings to Btus, finding total potential savings of 64,411 MMBtus, equivalent to 27% over the base year. Second, a survey of 612 residential participants revealed that 39% of the energy-efficiency measures that had been recommended in the Energy Study either had been implemented or the customers had concrete plans to implement them. Based on an analysis of 742 residential customers, 65 small commercial and industrial customers, and 60 large C/I customers, the estimated annual energy savings per participant is 341 kWh per residential customer, 2,215 kWh per small C/I customer, and 8,367 kWh per large C/I customer.

Almost $4.4 million has been spent on RVEERP since the project was initiated in 1990. Using a methodology that takes into account both electricity and gas savings, the cost of saved energy of RVEERP based on all expenditures through December 31, 1992, ranges from 4.59 ¢/kWh to 8.14 ¢/kWh, depending on the discount rate used.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Wisconsin Public Service Corporation’s Irrigation Program is a pump testing and incentive program for agricultural customers who install reduced pressure irrigation systems. These systems typically operate at 50-65 pounds per square inch (psi) with 60 to 75 horsepower motors to deliver 1,000 gallons per minute. Conventional systems operate at about 100 psi with 100 horsepower motors to deliver the same volume of water.

In order to promote the reduced pressure irrigation systems, WPSC first needed to overcome farmers’ misconceptions about reduced pressure systems. WPSC recognized from the onset of the program the value of working with trade allies and the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension Service to introduce these energy-efficient technologies. It is this partnership that has been responsible for the changing attitudes toward reduced pressure irrigation systems in Wisconsin and that has made this program a success to date.

To implement the program, WPSC relies heavily on trade allies. Equipment dealers in the WPSC service territory actively promote the program with their high levels of customer contact and credibility. Utility rebates of up to $300 generally cover 100% of the cost of a required pump test, performed by the equipment vendors. Then WPSC provides incentives for irrigation system components, including new motors, based on estimated demand reductions. In turn the rebates available through the Irrigation Program boost vendors’ sales by encouraging customers to make purchases of equipment that might otherwise be unaffordable.

A typical irrigation system retrofit entails the purchase and installation of new sprinkler nozzles, a new downsized motor for the pump, and a rebuilt pump. Thirty-nine reduced pressure irrigation systems were installed on 31 different wells between 1990 and 1992. In 1992, the Irrigation Program resulted in energy savings of 411 MWh. WPSC estimates that about one-half of the 385 wells eligible to participate in the program have terrain and well volumes suitable for reduced pressure irrigation systems. Of these, another half have barriers to implementation such as inappropriate crop type(s), or stringent buyers’ rules regarding crop irrigation. Thus, there are approximately 96 wells being targeted by the Irrigation Program, and about one-third have already been reached.

A typical retrofit costs $8,000 to $10,000, and WPSC rebates can cover anywhere from 20% to 100% of the cost, depending on the characteristics of the existing system and the retrofit. In 1992, total installation costs (including pump tests) for the 29 systems installed were $504,000. WPSC covered $173,500 of those costs, and customer contributions totaled $330,500.

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