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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In terms of energy savings, Niagara Mohawk’s Commercial and Industrial Lighting Rebate program is the largest program that has been profiled by The Results Center. Begun in 1989 as a pilot around Albany, New York, the program was quickly ramped up to encompass all of NMPC’s service territory. In 1990 the program achieved evaluated energy savings of 55 GWh, then grew to 117 GWH in 1991, before racking up an impressive 145 GWh in 1992.

One of the keys to the success of the C/I Lighting Rebate program has been the emphasis placed on both process and impact evaluations conducted for each year of the program. Through these evaluations, the program has evolved. For instance, rebate levels have been modified (mostly decreased over time), relative levels of rebates between new construction and retrofits have also been adjusted, and the list of eligible equipment has been changed to reflect both new technologies and technologies that are deemed to no longer require incentives. NMPC can tell its customers have been tracking program changes as well. In the last two weeks of 1992 NMPC received a surge of 1,000 rebate applications, signalling that its customers were well aware of the impending decreases in rebate levels for 1993!

Given the magnificent nature of the program -- over three million pieces of hardware have been installed as a result of the program’s three-year history -- the program has been influential in transforming the market for some energy-efficient technologies. In 1992 NMPC purposefully offered rebates for eight-foot, T8 fluorescent lamps, a technology that at the time was not yet commercially available but which had been cited as an important addition to the roster of energy-efficient technologies coming into the marketplace. A few months later the eight-foot, T8s were available for consumers in NMPC’s service territory, signalling the power of such a program to draw new, emerging technologies into a regional marketplace!

Finally, NMPC has reached approximately 7% of its eligible customers through the C&I Lighting Rebate program at a cost of $45.2 million. Of this total amount, fully 85%, or $38.4 million, has been spent on rebates and the remaining 15% or $6.8 million on administrative costs. Despite these enormous nominal costs and taking account of the fact that NMPC has effectively derated savings based on detailed impact evaluations, using a 5% real discount rate The Results Center calculates that the program has cost only 0.65, 1.65, and 1.56¢/kWh in 1990, 1991, and 1992, a remarkable achievement well worthy of attention and careful examination.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Green Mountain Power began its Equipment Replacement and Remodeling (ERAR) program at the end of 1991 in conjunction with the launch of seven other new DSM programs all developed within a collaborative process between the utility, its regulators, and interveners. The program’s replacement component is designed to allow customers to replace equipment at the end of its useful life with new energy efficient equipment at zero marginal cost. The remodeling component, which includes a technical assistance aspect, is specifically targeted at national accounts such as hotel and restaurant chains, to allow facility upgrades during periodic renovation cycles.

One of the most intriguing aspects of the program is that it is run in a utility context characterized by a large reserve margin, nearly 40%, and by the lowest retail rates of any major utility in New England. Thus the program is intended to leverage savings at low cost and this is why the replacement and remodelling aspect of the program is so important. At these times, the utility only has to pay the marginal cost of efficiency upgrades, allowing it to stretch its dollars and leverage maximum savings at the least possible cost. GMP has been very pleased with its program to date, as savings have outstripped projections and costs have been less than projections!

The ERAR program is distinctly different from GMP’s Large C&I Retrofit program that is designed to replace functioning equipment with more energy-efficient equipment. However, GMP has attempted to link these programs by ensuring that all participants in the Large C&I retrofit program are informed of the ERAR program. In fact, the utility’s Large C&I Retrofit program provides labels for the installed technology containing information on the ERAR program. GMP believes that this linkage will allow efficient technologies installed under the retrofit umbrella to eventually be replaced with other efficient technologies, maintaining persistence of savings for the customer and the utility.

Finally, both GMP and the Vermont Public Service Board recognize that incentives for replacing efficient equipment cannot be provided indefinitely as the market for these technologies will likely change in response to the current incentives. Thus without changes, the program could experience high levels of free ridership. However, both the utility and the Board feel that the current market for efficient technologies needs stimulation and that the utility can provide this valuable service. An evaluation of the effects of the ERAR program on the market is due in 1994, and the program will be adjusted accordingly, possibly by ratcheting up the minimum efficiency requirements of eligible technologies to reflect market conditions.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Federal government is the largest single user of energy in the United States. In 1991 the government used about 1.5 quadrillion BTUs of energy, equal to approximately 2% of total U.S. energy consumption. Since estimates of potential energy savings from federally-controlled buildings and facilities range from 25-40%, the U.S. Department of Energy developed the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) which was supported by an executive order which called for a 5% reduction in 1985 levels of federal energy use and a 10% reduction in 1995 levels of energy use by the year 2000.

The Fort Lewis Electric Efficiency Retrofit program has sprung forth from this backdrop as one of the FEMP’s flagship efforts. Largely carried out by the staff at Tacoma Public Utilities and at the Fort Lewis installation and supported by funding from the Bonneville Power Administration, this base-wide retrofit presents itself as a unique opportunity for significant U.S. taxpayer savings . Not only will a single utility customer provide large levels of savings, but a template has been developed for similar, subsequent , military retrofits.

Fort Lewis, Washington is essentially a small city "inhabited" by 25,000 permanent residents and 35,000 daytime residents. The "city" contains 4,450 buildings with a total floorspace of 23.9 million square feet. The majority of the total footage makes ups barracks and offices; the balance of area is made up of a wide mix of uses including chapels, libraries, restaurants, hangers, and garages. By retrofitting the entire facility in discrete projects, electricity consumption is projected to be cut by 21% resulting in annual energy savings of 44,000 MWh.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the project is the cooperation that has been developed between a number of key players. Fort Lewis stands ready and willing to assure persistence of measures installed and will repay 15% of the cost of the entire retrofit over time. Tacoma Public Utilities is coordinating the project and is financing all the project’s costs up-front but will be repaid by the Fort and through Bonneville Power Administration’s Targeted Acquisition Program, resulting in a zero net project cost to Tacoma over time. Finally, the actual implementation is being conducted by an energy service company that will provide metered results for a subset of representative building types.

This profile presents the foundation for the Fort Lewis Electric Efficiency Retrofit project and its status. After several years of planning retrofits are now underway. To date four "energy conservation projects" involving 59 buildings are now complete. These four projects represent annual energy savings of 3,932 MWh (9% of the entire base’s estimated savings) and costs of $1,536,800, approximately 6% of the total planned retrofit cost at Fort Lewis.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In Concert With The Environment® is an educational program that forges a link between energy use and the environment and has been primarily used for high school students. Developed by EcoGroup of Tempe, Arizona, the program is customized for each sponsor and is now being used by 25 utilities in 17 states for well over 130,000 students creating a win-win situation for sponsoring utilities and their customers.

The program is quite simple as students take home a detailed questionnaire about their home energy consumption, water use, recycling habits, and transportation patterns. The survey probes at energy use by engaging students and their parents in details such as the number, ages, and models of appliances they have in their homes. Back at school students then input the results of the survey into user-friendly software. The sponsoring utility provides full computer services that allow the students to immediately print out a home energy profile and an Action Plan to gather EcoWatt® Benefits, EcoGroup’s term for the environmental advantages of energy efficiency.

The survey provides utilities with a clear indication of baseline energy use in their service territories along with a tremendous amount of data about household characteristics typically not collected by utilities. This information can then be used by utilities to design or refine other energy efficiency programs. Note also that In Concert With The Environment can effectively "prime the pump" for later programs, as awareness of energy efficiency is raised through this innovative classroom connection!

After analyzing their data in class, students then take home action plans for their homes. The plan lists the relative costs and benefits of a variety of recommended measures so that families can decide how to proceed. In some cases utilities have coupled the awareness building initiative with free energy efficiency starter kits complete with such items as compact fluorescent lamps, faucet aerators, and high performance shower heads. In other cases, utilities provide information on their DSM programs and incentives to accompany the action plans that students take home.

While investing in tomorrow’s energy consumers inherently makes sense, utilities have been reluctant to pay the costs associated with such efforts. In Concert With The Environment affords utilities an opportunity to prudently invest in a program carefully designed to capture short-term efficiency upgrades through specific action steps, and long-term value changes through cleverly-designed curricula.

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