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   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Western Area Power Administration (Western) is a federal power marketing agency that was created in 1977 and is responsible for marketing energy to 615 wholesale power customers. These wholesale customers provide retail energy service to millions of customers in the central and western states, an area covering 1.3 million square miles. Western markets power from 50 power plants and sells 15% of the nation’s hydroelectric generation.

The Hoover Power Plant Act of 1984, which has been superseded by the 1992 Energy Policy Act, required that all of Western’s customers develop conservation and renewable energy programs (C&RE) as a prerequisite for purchasing Western’s low-cost, "preference" power. Western estimates that over 3,000 customer C&RE activities are currently under way as a result of this contract requirement. Western assists in customer C&RE programs by providing peer matches, workshops, informational services, customer visits, technology transfer, and equipment loans.

Nearly 50 rural electric cooperatives (RECs) in Western’s service area are now investigating the use of photovoltaic (PV) power as both a cost cutting and new service option. To date, 14 rural electric cooperatives in Western’s service area have pilot PV programs which account for approximately 80 PV installations. These small utilities recognize that PV power can greatly reduce the cost of service to small outlying or difficult to serve loads. Often, a PV powered system is the least expensive solution for the load requirement due to either the cost of extending the utility line to the site, or the recurrent cost of repairing existing power lines which are damaged by storms. Examples of these loads include water pumps, communications, cathodic protection, battery charging, off grid residential (often summer cabins), sign and security lighting.

Western’s involvement with PV applications began in 1989 with a request for technical assistance from K.C. Electric in Hugo, Colorado. K.C. Electric got the notion for remote PV applications in 1989 after a series of winter storms in which the utility lost close to 1,000 power poles. The resulting K.C. Electric program has served as a model for others looking to evaluate and implement PV programs. K.C. Electric identified 511 utility-powered stock well or fence charger services, and 90 miles of distribution line that included approximately 65 well services. Since these 511 services totaled more than a half a million dollars in plant investments (3% of total coop plant investment), and annual revenues of only $78,000 (0.3% of annual revenues), remote PV applications seemed to be a logical solution to the problems confronting K.C. Electric.

This profile introduces the concept of solar demand-side management, explores various opportunities for its application, and also presents the case study of K.C. Electric and its photovoltaic installations. This profile presents the important interface between renewable energy and DSM.

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  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Manufactured Housing Acquisition Program (MAP) is one of the most elegant DSM programs that The Results Center has reviewed, yet its apparent simplicity shrouds the years of program development, research, and the consensus building process that ultimately led to the program's fruition. MAP is the result of a collaborative effort of the Northwest Power Planning Council, Bonneville Power Administration, the region's public and investor-owned utilities, and 18 housing manufacturers. These parties reached an agreement whereby all new electrically-heated manufactured homes in the Pacific Northwest will be built to standards that exceed the new proposed Housing and Urban Development (HUD) code by nearly 50%.

The program encompasses the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, where 10,000 to 13,000 manufactured homes are constructed and sited each year, about 30% of all electrically-heated single family detached homes in the region. Program planners estimate that over 90% of newly-purchased manufactured homes will comply with the MAP program specifications for efficiency. The groundwork for the program began in 1986. Under the auspices of a working group, 150 demonstration manufactured homes were constructed, sited, and monitored for savings throughout the 1989/1990 heating season. Using data generated by these demonstration homes, technical specifications, acquisition payment amounts, and administrative and tracking procedures were developed and agreed upon.

The program that finally resulted is straightforward: all 18 home manufacturers in the region, four more located outside the region who ship into the region, and five of the six investor-owned utilities in the region are participating in the program. Manufacturers voluntarily contracted to build homes to the required specifications; BPA reimburses each manufacturer $2,500 for each home built.

Both savings and costs are presented in this profile as predicted by BPA since the program has been "on the street" for less than a year. Program savings are based on a comparison to manufactured homes typically constructed in the region. Savings are estimated to be 6,000 kWh/year/home. Since approximately 12,000 homes will be sited each year, the program's annual savings are estimated to be 72 GWh annually resulting in total program lifecycle savings of 12,960 GWh.

MAP is a prototype for DSM programs that seek to transform a market. By aggregating the purchasing power of multiple utilities, MAP has shown how a market can be transformed at the wholesale level. This approach to DSM acquisitions reduces administrative cost and increases program penetration. The successful implementation of MAP demonstrates the importance of negotiation and collaboration in program design. Many different organizations, with highly diverse needs, pulled together to bring MAP into a reality that can be effectively transferred, with slight modifications, to other regions of the country.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Boston Edison Company's Small Commercial and Industrial Retrofit Program (Small C/I Program) was created to provide free technical assistance, analysis, and energy efficiency measure installations for nonresidential customers with peak demands of less than 150 kW. The program took off in 1990, thanks in large part to a collaborative effort between BECo and non-utility parties whereby the collaborative's independent consultants worked with BECo staff to design and develop the Small C/I Program as well as other DSM efforts at BECo.

While the earliest implementation of the program focused on the installation of energy-efficient lamps, since March of 1990 the program has continued to identify other cost-effective measures, including HVAC and water heating upgrades, and has added them to options available to customers at no charge. An added feature of the program introduced in 1991 is a "customer generated proposal" option which allows customers to submit applications for self-designed retrofits. Customers can use electrical contractors of their choice, a mechanism whereby electrical contractors market the Small C/I Program independently complementing BECo's marketing efforts.

To date, the Small C/I Program has resulted in total annual energy savings of 8,022 MWh, total cumulative energy savings of 10,544 MWh, and lifecycle energy savings of 120,337 MWh. In terms of capacity savings the program has resulted in cumulative summer peak coincident capacity savings of 1.83 MW and cumulative winter peak capacity savings of 1.57 MW. In 1990, annual energy savings per customer were 3,144 kWh and this increased to 6,005 kWh in 1991. Capacity savings per participant in 1990 were 0.79 kW for summer peak coincident and 0.72 kW for winter peak. In 1991 capacity savings increased to 1.3 kW per participant for summer peak and 1.1 kW for winter peak.

To date BECo has spent a total of $7,888,600 on the program with $2,114,700 spent in 1990 and $5,773,900 spent in 1991. The total costs include purchases of equipment, training, contractors, BECo labor, monitoring and evaluation, and "overhead and other costs". Boston Edison estimates that there are 76,000 eligible customers for the Small Commercial/Industrial Program. In 1990 there were 802 participants, and an average cost per participant of $2,636.77. In 1991, there were 916 participants and the cost per participant was $6,303.39. Now that the program is up and running and has clearly been successful, BECo is planning a nominal cost share from customers. This is a key issue for the effective transfer of the program to other service territories.

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   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Wisconsin Electric’s (WE) Smart Money for Business encourages commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers to install energy-efficient equipment during renovations, new construction projects, retrofits, and routine equipment replacements. Through well-designed marketing campaigns and attractive incentive levels, customers are encouraged to retrofit with energy-efficient products even when they had not been planning to replace their existing equipment. Additionally, the program provides no- or low-interest loans for energy saving projects.

For the Smart Money for Business Program, lighting measures accounted for the majority of projects (about 84%), demand savings (64%), energy savings (70%), and net benefits (70%). Lighting only accounted, however, for 56% of the rebates and loans given. Air conditioning and process measures, while accounting for only 5% and 1% respectively of the projects, provided the largest remaining fraction of savings rebates and loans given and net benefits.

Smart Money for Business has been highly successful in its service area, witha participation rate of 35%. Eligible customers can participate in one of three ways. (1) The customer may make the qualifying purchase and receive an instant rebate at participating dealers. (2) In cases where customers are planning large renovations, retrofits, or new construction projects, a Wisconsin Electric sales representative generally contacts the prospective participants to inform them of the program or these customers may contact the utility and ask a sales representative for assistance and information on the efficiency options available. (3) A trade ally, such as a lighting contractor or HVAC vendor, may initiate contact with potential customers, informing them of the benefits available through Smart Money for Business as part of their own marketing process.

In 1991 Smart Money for Business achieved net demand savings of 28.4 MW and 132.9 GWh in annual energy savings. Between 1987 and 1991, the program has accumulated 670.6 GWh in annual energy savings, and 150.3 MW in annual peak capacity savings. In 1991 the Smart Money for Business program also achieved the following results: about $25 million in net benefits, more than 7,000 participants with more than 35,000 projects completed, and about $13 million in loans and rebates were processed.

Between 1987 and 1991, the program has issued $81.9 million in rebates, $11.5 million in loans for a total of $93.4 million. The cost of saved energy for the program in 1991, based on a 10-year lifetime and only incentive payment costs, ranged from 1.12 ¢/kWh to 1.49 ¢/kWh. The average incentive payment per applicant was $6,050 in 1987, peaking at $7,400 in 1988, and then dropping each year to its 1991 low of $1,700.

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