HomeMy WebLinkAbout12 Review of 2014 and projected 2015 Conservation ProgramsAgenda Item # 12
To: Board of Directors
From: Steven Poncelet
Date. March 18, 2015
Subject: Review of the 2014 and Projected 2015 Conservation Programs
1. WHY THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE BOARD
This workshop is before the Board to provide a review of current Conservation
Department energy and water programs, program performance measures, and to
recommend changes and additions to the FY15 programs.
2. HISTORY
Starting in 2008, the District has been investing in new energy and water conservation
programs and capacity. The current conservation energy and water programs can be
found on our website at www.tdpud.org. As verified and reported through our outside
Evaluation, Measurement, & Verification (EM&V) efforts, the District has a successful
track record of delivering a large portfolio of very cost-effective programs.
The District's conservation program offerings include; traditional rebate programs,
give -a -ways, and direct -install programs. The primary goal is to maximize return on
equity for our customers and to ensure that all of our customer segments have the
opportunity to participate in our programs. staff has been working to deliver, and
optimize, existing programs and to develop and bring to our customers new water and
energy savings programs.
Historically, our residential energy programs have focused on lighting (screw -in
CFL's), residential energy surveys (comprehensive delivery and installation of energy
and water saving measures), appliance rebates, and low-income. Lighting has
dominated our strong EM&V results. For business energy programs; the emphasis
has been on commercial lighting (rebates and free screw -in CFL's/LSD's), commercial
refrigeration (Keep Your Cool), and custom projects.
On the water side, our residential programs have been dominated by water -efficient
toilets (1.28 GPF rebate/exchange), customer leak -rebates (in conjunction with water
meters), HE clothes washer rebates, free water measures, and water -wise
landscaping (Patricia S. Sutton Conservation Garden). For business water programs,
in addition to the residential programs, the emphasis has been on commercial
irrigation and custom water projects.
The District continues to increase our presence in the community with a steady
stream of communication and well established events such as the Tahoe Donner
Block Party, Trashion Shows, TDPUD Garden Party and Seminar, Truckee
Thursdays, and the Truckee Home Show to name a few. Some of the District's most
successful programs, however, are reaching saturation or are being phased out
through regulatory actions. Over time, staff has been analyzing the performance of
our programs through the EM&V process, optimizing existing programs, and
investigating potential new programs.
3. NEW INFORMATION
The most recent EM&V results for FY14 showed the energy conservation programs
saving ~1.2% first -year load (E3 'Net' results) at a fully loaded cost of ~$0.053/kWh
(compared to customer cost of ~0.14/kWh to use energy). It is important to note that
E3 'Gross' results are ~1.7% of first -year load at a fully loaded cost of $0.037/kWh
and the actual savings are even better. The distinction between the regulatory E3
'Net' and 'Gross' and actual savings has to do with the California Energy
Commission's (GEC's) regulatory reporting approach that uses new codes &
standards to calculate 'Gross' savings (verses what was actually replaced) and then
further reducing the actual savings based on whether the customers decision to do
the energy or water conservation project was 100% motivated by the District's
programs. The District treats energy efficiency as an electric resource. The summary
E3 report used to calculate savings and for regulatory reporting to the CEC is
included as Attachment 1.
The Residential Energy Surveys (RES), CFL give -a -ways, Appliance Rebates,
$5/bulb LED rebate, and LED Holiday Light Exchange continue to be the workhorses
for the District for residential energy program. Demand for RES and Holiday Light
Exchange remains strong and the $5/bulb LED rebate saw double-digit growth over
FY13 results. Commercial lighting and refrigeration continue to play a key role for
business energy programs. The District did see a dramatic drop in our commercial
lighting rebates due to annual variations but also due to the impacts of new codes and
standards and the burdens of Title 24 on small business retrofits. High -efficiency
toilets, HE Clothes Washer Rebate, and the District's handouts - low -flow shower
heads, sink aerators, and hose spray nozzles - continue to drive the results for water
programs. The District did switch from 1.6 GPF to 1.28 GPF for our toilet exchange
program and customer acceptance has remained strong. Data on overall
conservation program portfolio and individual program trends is included as
Attachment 2.
The customer demand for residential energy programs has met or exceeded our
budget and capacity but the dramatic drop in commercial lighting rebates caused an
underspending of the budget by ~10%. On the water side, the residential programs
remain very strong and some custom projects with the schools - focused on
energy/water usage dashboards and customer engagement - led to the budget being
almost fully spent.
In response to staff investigations along with feedback from EM&V, staff is
recommending the following changes or additions to the District's energy and water
conservation programs:
• Develop a new energy program targeting the �13500 all -electric homes in
Truckee. This pilot program would build upon the existing Residential Energy
Survey program but would evaluate the cost-effectiveness of deeper energy
efficiency retrofits such as insulation, building envelope improvements, and
windows;
• Develop a new water program targeting irrigation systems and controllers and
the larger summer water users in the District; and
• Continue to leverage and investigate opportunities to educate and engage our
customers on the benefits of energy and water conservation. There has been
a noticeable increase, across almost all California utilities, in customer
engagement and behavior programs as traditional conservation programs and
technologies become saturated or less cost-effective.
The goal is to implement these changes
EM&V process following the program year.
in FY15 and to analyze the results in the
4. FISCAL IMPACT
The approved FY15 budget includes funding for the District's energy and water
conservation programs. There is no direct fiscal impact associated with this workshop
item.
5. RECOMMENDATION
Receive this report and provide feedback to staff.
Steven Poncelet
Public Information & Conservation Manager
Michael D. Holley
General Manager