HomeMy WebLinkAbout8 Conservation Programs 2011 Agenda Item # 8
TRUCKEE DONNER
uL
WORKSHOP
To: Board of Directors
From: Steven Poncelet
Date: March 02, 2011
Subject: Review of the 2010 and Projected 2011 Conservation Programs
1. WHY THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE BOARD
This workshop item is before the Board to provide a year-end review of the FY10
Conservation Department programs and to present a projected plan for the FY11
Conservation Department programs.
2. HISTORY
The District has been investing in new conservation programs and capacity while
continuing to deliver our robust stable of energy and water saving programs. The
current conservation brochure listing our energy and water programs is included as
Attachment 1. As verified and reported through our Evaluation, Measurement, &
Verification (EM&V) efforts, the District has a successful track-record of very cost-
effective programs. The District has expanded beyond traditional rebate programs and
now also offers give-a-way and direct-install programs. The primary goal of the
District's conservation programs remains 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.
3. NEW INFORMATION
FY10 performance of the Conservation Department programs was on budget and
exceeded expectations. The independent, outside EM&V work is largely completed
and the results for the 2010 energy conservation programs are very impressive: Net
annual savings of 3,775,270 kWh, Net lifecycle savings of 38,838,962 kWh, and a
TRC of 5.51 (see Attachment 2). These results will again put the District in the top of
California utilities for both energy savings and cost-effectiveness. To put these
numbers in perspective, the District's 2010 energy conservation programs resulted in
a first-year energy savings of over 2.5% of gross electric sales at a fully loaded cost of
less than $0.02/kWh. The benefits include cost savings to the District and money in
our customer's pockets. Charts showing first-year kWh savings and cost-
effectiveness (TRC) for the last three years are attached (see Attachment 3).
In terms of specific 2010 energy conservation program results:
• Commercial Rebates (38);
• Residential Rebates (768);
• Energy Savings Program Customers Served (175);
• Residential Energy Survey Customers Served (48);
• Holiday Light Exchange Customers Served (684);
• Residential Green Partners Customers Served (553);
• Business Green Partners Customers Served (59);
• Keep Your Cool Customers Served (36); and
• Screw-in CFL's Distributed (almost 60,000)
In terms of new program development for energy conservation in 2010, the Green
Schools Program/Trashion Show effort was extremely successful from a cost-effective
point of view with the District distributing 1,800 conservation kits to every elementary
and middle school student in our territory. The educational component and the
visibility within the community of this new program were even more impressive. The
pilot Neighborhood Resource Mobilization effort was also very successful with an
estimated 25% of the neighborhood attending the Olympic Heights pilot event. The
Residential Energy Savings (RES) Program was launched and customer response
has been very positive. Staff continues to hand out free compact fluorescent light
bulbs (CFL's) and, as we have started to saturate the 12-pack spiral market, staff is
moving towards other types of CFL's. New LED lighting programs are beginning to
take shape but the technology is still developing across all applications.
In terms of specific 2010 water conservation program results:
• Toilet Rebate Customers (165 customers, over 270 toilets);
• Toilet Exchange Customers (12 customers, over 15 toilets);
• Customer Leak Repair Rebates (42);
• Combined ESP/RES Customers Served (223);
• Low-Flow Showerhead Distributed (-3,350); and
• Low-Flow Sink Aerators Distributed (-4,000)
In terms of new program development for water conservation in 2010, the launch of
the conservation garden, including the interpretive signage and web-based resource,
went very well and staff will continue to promote and develop this resource. The
Customer Water Leak Repair Rebate program is on-going but customer response has
been sluggish. Staff launched the new Water Efficient Toilet Rebate Program in the
summer and the new toilet exchange program towards year end with strong customer
participation. The commercial Smart Water Controller Program, that was started in
FY09, is on-going and staff is reviewing the water-savings data to determine if the
program should be continued.
The proposed FY11 Conservation programs along with a break-out of funding and
projected activity levels is included as Attachment 4. The District currently has a very
comprehensive stable of programs and Staff will continue to implement and optimize
the existing programs. Potential changes to existing programs include responding to
the work at the Federal level to ban the sale of incandescent screw-in light bulbs
(starting with 100W incandescents in 2012) and the ban in July of 2010 on the
manufacture of T12 fluorescent tubes and magnetic ballasts for wired-in lighting. New
program development will likely focus on motor efficiency (furnace motors, commercial
motors, etc.) along with tracking the efficiency work on plug-in electronics (TV's,
computers, games, etc.). The District will continue our efforts on ESP and RES and
will work to expand the neighborhood block party concept. Staff will continue to
implement the new water conservation programs.
4. FISCAL IMPACT
The FY11 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 provi a feedback and direction to staff.
Steven Poncelet ichael D. Holley
Public Information & Conservation Manager General Manager