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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The California Energy Coalition (referred to as CEC and "the Coalition") is a unique organization that was established by a third party to coordinate the energy use of large commercial and industrial customers and to broker this service to Southern California Edison and other utilities. The CEC was created by and for large commercial and industrial energy users who want to act responsibly to shed load at times of utility capacity constraints through sophisticated management of their facilities. By coordinating their efforts, these users can respond collectively with a high degree of individual flexibility and reliability. Sometimes one member will compensate for another's inability to meet load reduction targets when called by the utility. At other times the same member may not be able to meet the "firm service level" ascribed in the "load reduction game plan."

The California Energy Coalition has created a process whereby large users can fulfill the dual goals of enhancing their own bottom line through wise energy management while serving as responsible corporate citizens. The CEC's charter was to provide load management services and "outreach" services for its members. The latter has evolved into a major emphasis on energy efficiency; in fact a large fraction of the CEC's revenue comes from energy efficiency initiatives. The CEC has effectively brought major energy users "on board" with profitable load management and then has provided services for members to further enhance their "total energy efficiency management"; a blend of "fuel-neutral" energy efficiency measures and heightened operational awareness and control.

Because all incentive payments are the direct result of measured data, this profile has a high degree of accuracy for savings and costs. The energy efficiency savings that result as members join in the broader energy cooperative process are approximated and thus can only be presented as qualitative information. For 1991, the Coalition provided Southern California Edison with 14 MW of summer peak capacity at a total cost to SCE of $365,000. The CEC has also developed energy cooperatives for PG&E, Long Island Lighting Company, Boston Edison, and now for Commonwealth Edison. Each of these cooperatives has evolved differently, providing fertile ground for comparisons.

The most important lesson learned from energy cooperatives is that a third party broker, such as the CEC, can effectively motivate its members to continually refine their energy management and capture greater and greater efficiency over time. The CEC has provided an effective, low-cost means for major energy users to profit from load management and energy efficiency.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

British Columbia Hydro's Power Smart Refrigerator Buy-Back Program provides utility customers with an environmentally-sound means of disposing of "second" refrigerators, alleviating restricted landfill capacity, the uncontrolled release of chlorofluorcarbons into the atmosphere, and inefficient electricity use. Each year in British Columbia over 30,000 refrigerators are landfilled, and their CFCs, embedded in refrigerants and in the insulation of the refrigerators, are released harming the ozone layer.

Many consumers keep old, second refrigerators in their garages and basements -- often stocked with little more than a six of beer! A market research study found that 60% of these second refrigerators are full-sized, and that 55% of them are more than 12-years old. To pull these "hulks" out of service, B.C. Hydro implemented a pilot buy-back program during fiscal years 1990 and 1991 and offered a $50 bounty for customers who would allow the utility to come and take the refrigerator away. The pilot has been B.C. Hydro’s most successful residential program and has received more press coverage than any other program including those offered province wide.

The Refrigerator Buy-Back pilot program is a logical complement to B.C. Hydro’s New Refrigerator Rebate Program. The latter was effectively influencing consumers’ buying behavior in favor of efficient new refrigerators, but often the customers did not how to properly dispose of their old units. The pilot program operated for two years, picking-up more than 16,000 refrigerators saving an estimated 119 GWh over the calculated remaining life of the second refrigerators. For a total cost of $2.8 million (1990 U.S.$) the pilot has also resulted in peak capacity savings of 1.36 MW. Now B.C. Hydro is in the process of expanding the Buy-Back Program to offer service to its customers province-wide.

Of the most profound results of the pilot is the existence of a state of the art dismantling facility for refrigerators just outside the City of Vancouver. There, old refrigerators are sorted by refrigerant and the refrigerants are carefully removed and recovered. The remains are then dismantled and their components recycled. As a result of the success of this facility, and the marketing and delivery mechanisms developed by Power Smart for the program, Power Smart Inc. is making the program guidelines available to its members around the world and several Power Smart member utilities in Canada plan to implement the program this year.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Austin Energy Star program is a home energy rating system that has been implemented by the Environmental and Conservation Services Department in the City of Austin Electric Utility service area since the 1984-85 fiscal year. The program was one of many DSM programs conceived in response to a mandate by the Austin City Council that alternatives to purely supply-side options be developed.

The Energy Star program has been extremely successful in encouraging builders in the Austin area to incorporate energy efficiency into their new residential construction. Since its inception, about 75% of all new homes have been rated by Energy Star, and each year more builders sign up. Homes are rated on an open point scale that is representative of energy-cost savings that would be realized by the home as compared to a standard home built to the city's already strict energy code. Factors such as insulation type, glazings, solar screens, HVAC efficiencies, heat pump types, and fuel types are all considered in the generation of a rating for each new home.

Energy Star has been well-received by both volume and custom builders. Many prospective homebuyers now request an Energy Star rating, and builders advertise the ratings as an attractive and marketable aspect of their product. The program is designed so that volume builders can receive good ratings by making small cost-effective changes in their building plans, such as reducing window size. At the same time, custom builders can receive top ratings for incorporating efficiency into the total home design.

Much of the program's success can be attributed to the effective marketing strategies employed by the Environmental and Conservation Services Department. Frequent newspaper advertising, featuring lists of participating builders and architects, have been a mainstay of the marketing plan. This year, a home efficiency label designed to be placed near the main fuse box was introduced. The label is similar to the yellow home appliance efficiency labels with which consumers are familiar.

The program as a whole, however, has been successful due to the excellent partnership between the community and the Environmental and Conservation Services Department. The department, which is highly receptive to the needs of the community, also has the benefit of working in a city with a population that is especially conscious of environmental issues and is enthusiastic about opportunities to improve energy efficiency.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Hood River Conservation Project was an unprecedented direct installation weatherization project implemented between 1983 and 1985 in Hood River and Wasco Counties, Oregon. The Project was conceived by the Natural Resources Defense Council, which enlisted the cooperation of Pacific Power & Light Company, Bonneville Power Administration, the Hood River Electric Cooperative, the Northwest Power Planning Council, the Northwest Public Power Association, and the Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee. All of these groups participated in a Regional Advisory Group, providing input and reaching consensus on decisions regarding project planning, implementation, and follow-up research.

In achieving its goals, HRCP was phenomenally successful. Although energy savings were less than predicted, the project was able to meet its objectives, particularly in regard to evaluation. The conclusions and recommendations developed by HRCP have been useful in a variety of other DSM plans.

Many facets of HRCP made it unique. A detailed evaluation plan was developed, which included a community assessment and household surveys in three communities before the project began. The project had a continuing commitment to the collection and management of high-quality data, and to reporting not only its successes, but also its failures. The project sought to remove any economic barriers from the weatherization process. On average, homeowners contributed a mere 1% of the cost to install any of 15 weatherization measures, which ranged from enhanced insulation to water heater wraps, while HRCP paid the remaining 99%.

HRCP had an ambitious time schedule, in which energy audits were to be conducted and recommended installations completed within a two year period. The Project was successful in staying within its time constraints, thanks to the flexibility of project managers to change certain conventions, such as elimination of the requirement that only local contractors be used.

The Project sought to achieve 100% participation at a time when typical participation rates in utility-sponsored conservation programs were on the order of 3% to 6%. A comprehensive marketing strategy was developed in hopes of meeting that goal, but community interest was so high that a 91% participation rate was achieved and most of the marketing budget was never used.

Data collection goals and research efforts were designed prior to project startup, and continued dialogue between evaluators and implementers insured that the research goals could be met even as the project specifics remained flexible enough to deal with unforeseen difficulties.

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