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Energy Market Imperfections: Sizing the Fixed Price Penalty from DSM Expansion

By Brooks Albery, Principal, Opinari Research Associates, LLC, November, 02, 2009 - The market for Energy Efficiency (EE) is large, highly fragmented, and includes many specific and challenging market 'imperfections' that need to be addressed before EE can live up to its full potential. This paper focuses on DSM programs as one source of EE investment and estimates the impacts of one market imperfection -- the fixed cost recovery challenge -- on kWh rates under a scenario where DSM programs expand to cover demand growth over the next decade.  more...
Article Viewed 978 Times  |  21 Comments

Stimulating DSM Investment as a Product within Utility Portfolios

By Brooks Albery, Principal, Opinari Research Associates, LLC, September, 11, 2009 - The primary question being addressed through this conference is how internal operations and regulatory policies of utilities and the regulatory agencies will be impacted in a carbon-constrained future. Setting aside for the moment the question of whether constraining carbon is the right policy direction, the question becomes "how" the carbon constraining policies can be most economically implemented. Two primary directions for the industry under a carbon constrained future are: 1) utilize technology advancements to reduce the carbon intensity of how new power supply is provided to consumers; and, 2) utilize advancements in energy efficiency ("EE") to allow consumers to generate the same level of energy 'utility' out of a reduced amount of energy consumption.1 This paper provides thoughts from the electric utility's perspective in terms of operating Demand Side Management ("DSM") programs as a product line within their portfolio with an overall goal of maximizing shareholder returns. As a key player in any push to grow EE as a method for reducing carbon, the actions of the utilities will play a central role.  more...
Article Viewed 1294 Times  |  10 Comments

How much are electric utilities spending to save a kilowatt-hour through energy-efficiency programs?

By Kelsie Bell, Research Analyst, E Source, June, 08, 2009 - Using data collected by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) for the 50 electric utilities that spend the most on energy efficiency, we estimate that the median utility cost of saving a kilowatt-hour (kWh) was between three and four cents for programs run from 2001 through 2006. This estimate depends on the assumed lifetime of energy-efficiency measures and on the discounted rate used for cost levelization, and represents the average cost across all energy-efficiency programs for all market segments.  more...
Article Viewed 2794 Times  |  11 Comments

Why Do Utilities' Small Business Customers Participate in Certain DSM Programs but Not Others?

By Kelsie Bell, Research Analyst, E Source, December, 16, 2008 - When it comes to small business, there are generally three factors that contribute to the success of certain DSM programs over others:

Can Chain Retailers Help Save the Utility Grid -- and the Environment -- and Get Paid for Doing It?

By Dan Sharplin, Chairman and CEO, Site Controls, Inc., September, 16, 2008 - With nearly 900,000 locations, U.S. chain retail stores are among the largest commercial consumers of electrical power. They’re in for a shock, too, as they open their utility bills in the months ahead: electricity rates, already high, are rising fast and poised to soar even higher.  more...
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Involving Customers in the Resource Mix

By Hugh Baker, Jr., , , June, 27, 2008 - The U.S. utility industry faces a challenging period of major transformation. The exact nature of these changes and their long-term effect upon the economic well-being and security of the country are difficult to predict. But a consensus already exists among industry insiders, politicians, regulators, economists, environmentalists and increasingly, among the general public, that these fundamental changes are inevitable. Among the many challenges the industry faces, one of the most daunting and arguably the most important, is serving the increasing electricity demand in a reliable and cost-effective manner.  more...
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The Many Faces of Demand

By Jeff Tolnar, Chief Technology Officer, BPL Global, March, 24, 2008 - We have all heard of the supply-demand imbalance of energy, where supply growth is slow and demand continues to grow at ever-increasing rates. It is true that there is still a margin between generation and energy usage; however, taken at a granular level, the issue is pronounced. During peak times of the day, demand for energy pushes supply chains to the limit. In some countries, demand during peak times exceeds available capacity and causes rolling blackouts and failures along transmission and distribution facilities.  more...
Article Viewed 3563 Times  |  14 Comments

A Fresh Approach to Managing Peak Demand

By Gary Paul, Vice President, Energy & Utilities Practice, Capgemini, March, 14, 2008 - In the near future, all North American utilities will adopt smart metering and the supporting advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) at some level. Some utilities will inevitably take a bare bones approach, doing just enough to meet the minimum requirements set forth in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and other regulatory mandates. The more visionary companies, however, will use smart metering as an opportunity to positively influence their destinies, and ultimately, the direction of the North American electrical system.  more...
Article Viewed 5173 Times  |  113 Comments

The Green Gap in Communications and Messaging

By Jamie Wimberly, CEO, EcoAlign, December, 12, 2007 - There is a growing misalignment between people’s stated intentions, e.g., their desire to be more environmentally conscious or to save energy, and their actual purchasing and consumption behavior. A primary driver of the trend is a green gap between terms and messaging commonly used in the energy and environment space and consumer’s actual understanding, acceptance and perceptions of value connected to these terms.  more...
Article Viewed 4113 Times  |  19 Comments

Should We Ban the Bulb?

By Steven Rosenstock, Manager of Energy Solutions, Edison Electric Institute, November, 09, 2007 - From blogs to government bodies, people are calling for an end to Thomas Edison's most famous invention, the incandescent light bulb. The European Union, Australia, and Ontario are banning the sale of general service incandescent lamps over the next fi ve years (and as early as 2009). Congress and many states also are contemplating a ban or some form of effi ciency standard.  more...
Article Viewed 6063 Times  |  52 Comments
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