Publications

Utilities

The following publications and presentations released by the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project relate to Utilities:

• Maintaining Strong Utility Energy Efficiency Programs Beyond 2018: Challenges and Prospects in the Southwest (PDF - 509 KB)
  August 2018 - Electric utilities in the Southwest (AZ, CO, NM, NV and UT) have significantly ramped up their energy efficiency programs in the past decade. Some utilities in the region are achieving first year energy savings of 1.5 percent or retail sales or greater. Some factors call into question the ability to sustain this level of energy savings beyond 2018, while utilities are also implementing innovative technologies and program strategies to maintain or possibly increase energy savings.
• Is the "duck curve" eroding the value of energy efficiency? (PDF - 591 KB)
  August 2018 - In recent years, utilities in the southwestern U.S. and California have experienced significant increases in the penetration of renewable resources – particularly solar PV. This has had a major effect on the operation and pricing of electricity in the wholesale markets in these regions.
• Heat pumps in the southwest:
  
  • Benefits of Heat Pumps for Homes in the Southwest - Executive Summary (PDF - 791 KB)
    June 2018 - Executive Summary of full report
  • Benefits of Heat Pumps for Homes in the Southwest - Full Report (PDF - 1.46 MB)
    June 2018 - Heat pumps are a mature but still improving technology for energy-efficient space and water heating. In the past five years, the cold-weather performance of air-source heat pumps for residential applications has improved dramatically, allowing heat pumps to be more practical and cost-effective in more areas of the U.S. than was the case previously.
• A Budding Opportunity: Energy Efficiency Best Practices for Cannabis Grow Operations (PDF - 1.53 MB)
  December 2017 - Cannabis cultivation is an energy-intensive sector: energy consumption per square foot for indoor grow operations is about ten times that of a typical office building.
• Time-Sensitive Valuation of Electricity Savings in the Southwest (PDF - 838 KB)
  August 2017 - This report examines the methodologies that electric utilities in the Southwest use to value the avoided costs (i.e., determine the benefits) of their energy efficiency and other demand-side management programs. The report also presents the actual value of energy savings for different types of programs implemented by the southwest utilities, and provides recommendations for future valuation of energy savings.
• Review of Leading Rural Electric Cooperative Energy Efficiency Programs (PDF - 1.17 MB)
  January 2016 - This SWEEP report reviews the energy efficiency and load management programs of RECs along two dimensions -- the requirements of state policies and the types of program infrastructure within a state -- and identifies the best practices that will support increased energy savings in the Southwest.
• Maintaining High Levels of Energy Savings from Utility Energy Efficiency Programs: Strategies from the Southwest (PDF - 356 KB)
  September 2014 - Paper by Howard Geller, Jeff Schlegel and Ellen Zuckerman, presented at the 2014 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings
• Upstream Utility Incentive Programs: Experience and Lessons Learned (PDF - 920 KB)
  May 2014 - Upstream incentive programs, which work through manufacturers and distributors, have the potential to dramatically increase the market penetration of efficient technologies, at a significantly reduced unit cost, compared to downstream incentive programs which directly engage the consumer. This paper reviews the experience of investor-owned electric utilities with upstream incentive programs across the U.S. and provides some conclusions and program design recommendations.
• Update on Utility Energy Efficiency Programs in the Southwest (PDF - 335 KB)
  March 2013 - Presentation at the 2013 ACEEE National Symposium on Market Transformation
• Utility Strategic Energy Management Programs (PDF - 1.82 MB)
  March 2013 - SWEEP Report: Based upon a review of three highly effective strategic energy management (SEM) programs currently offered in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S., the report makes recommendations for utilities which are considering developing such programs in the Southwest and elsewhere.
• Energy Efficiency at Fort Collins Utilities: A Role Model for Publicly Owned Utilities (PDF - 1.75 MB)
  February 2013 - Fort Collins Utilities has demonstrated that a small publicly-owned utility can implement highly effective energy efficiency programs that benefit its customers. Other publicly-owned utilities should replicate what this utility has done.
• The $20 Billion Bonanza: Best Practice Utility Energy Efficiency Programs and Their Benefits for the Southwest
  October 2012 - SWEEP Report
• Utility Financing Programs for Industrial Customers (PDF - 852 KB)
  September 2012 - SWEEP Report: This report provides an overview of the variety of financing programs available for industrial energy efficiency projects, along with profiles of five successful utility financing programs for industrial customers.
• Utility Energy Efficiency Programs in the Southwest: 2012 Update (PDF - 392 KB)
  August 2012 - Paper presented at the 2012 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings
• Southwest Utility Industrial Energy Efficiency Programs: Highlights and Best Practices (PDF - 574 KB)
  June 2012 - SWEEP Report: Based on a review of nine utility industrial energy efficiency programs, in the region this report offers best-practice recommendations to help utilities achieve greater energy savings, higher participation and better cost-effectiveness in their energy efficiency programs for industrial customers.
• Energy Efficiency Finance: Options and Roles for Utilities (PDF - 1.31 MB)
  October 2011 - SWEEP Report
• Review of Leading Rural Electric Cooperative Energy Efficiency Programs (PDF - 458 KB)
  June 2011 - SWEEP Report
• Municipal Utility Energy Efficiency Programs: Leading Lights (PDF - 113 KB)
  March 2011 - SWEEP Report
• Update on Utility Energy Efficiency Programs in the Southwest (PDF - 189 KB)
  May 2008 - ACEEE Summer Study
• Rural Electric Efficiency Prospects
  March 2008 - SWEEP Report
• Demand Response: An Introduction (PDF - 639 KB)
  May 2006 - SWEEP / RMI Report
• Catching Up: Progress with Utility Energy Efficiency Programs in the Southwest (PDF - 242 KB)
  May 2006 - ACEEE Summer Study
• Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association's Resource Plan: Analysis and Alternatives (PDF - 1.05 MB)
  April 2006 - SWEEP / WRA Report
• Natural Gas DSM Programs: A National Survey (PDF - 490 KB)
  January 2006 - SWEEP Report
• Utility Energy Efficiency Policies and Programs in the Southwest (PDF - 288 KB)
  September 2004 - SWEEP Report
• Utility Energy Efficiency Programs and Systems Benefit Charges in the Southwest (PDF - 80 KB)
  April 2002 - SWEEP Report