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Learn more about the Institute’s goals, our governance structure and membership. Find out about upcoming events and the latest news from IEE. Access reports on energy efficiency and efficient pricing from IEE, the Edison Electric Institute and our partner organizations. IEE will continue to collect benchmarking data and provide alternative business model templates to its members and partners. As a member of IEE's e-mail list, you will receive targeted energy efficiency news including announcements of new resources and events.

Issue Briefs
 

New Items

Presentations

  • Role of the Customer in Energy Efficiency and Conservation by Lisa Wood, January 2011
    In this presentation to the Montana Energy Future Summit, Lisa Wood discusses the vast potential for utility-enabled customer choice in smart energy managment using data ranging from EE and DR potential estimates, dynamic pricing pilot programs, and new customer-engagment trends in the energy efficiency industry.
  • Smart Meter Cost Recovery by Adam Cooper, December 2010
    In this presentation, presented to the National Governor's Association Center for Best Practices, IEE Manager Adam Cooper discusses the key issues affecting smart meter cost recovery, including the scale of deployments, meter accuracy, customer and system benefits, customer pushback, and various models for cost recovery mechanisms.
  • The Impact of Dynamic Pricing on Low Income Customers - IEE Whitepaper, June 2010 by Lisa Wood, July 2010
    In this presentation to the NARUC ERE Committee, Lisa Wood outlines the issue of dynamic prices' effect on on low income customers and summarizes the findings of IEE's June 2010 study.
  • Ratepayer-funded Energy Efficiency: Nationwide Trends by Lisa wood, June 2010
    This presentation to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Energy Efficiency Workshop outlines major trends affecting the energy efficiency community nationwide.
  • Energizing Growth: Opportunities in the New Energy Economy by Lisa Wood, May 2010
    This presentation to the Council of State Governments describes the potential opportunities for energy efficiency savings and and provides an overview of efficiency as a resource for state legislators.
  • Smart Meters Provide Multiple Benefits to Customers by Lisa Wood, May 2010
    In this presentation to the Utilities Telecom Council Smart Grid Policy Summit, Lisa Wood discusses the scope and scale of smart meter rollouts nationwide and the diversity of benefits smart meters deliver customers.
  • Consumers are the Key to Future Smart Energy Management by Lisa Wood, March 2010
    In this presentation to the Eastern New Mexico State University Center for Public Utilities Current Issues 2010 conference, Lisa Wood explains the paradigm shift smart meter ennabled consumer energy management tools pose for electric utilities.
  • Thoughts on Factors Affecting Customer Bills in Bakersfield, CA - Summer 2009 by Lisa Wood, February 2010
    In this presentation to the NARUC Winter Committee Meetings, Lisa Wood presents a preliminary analysis of customer electric rates in Bakersfield, CA for summer 2008 vs. summer 2009, provinding an alternate explanation for high customer bills that indicates warm weather and California's tiered rate structures, and not smart meter inaccuracies, are largely responsible for the bill increases.
  • Impact of Energy Efficiency & Demand Response on Electricity Demand by Lisa Wood, October 2009
    In this presentation to the Atlantic Council, Lisa Wood presents an overview of the need for increased energy efficiency, the potential for energy efficiency in the next twenty years, and the shifting regulatory landscape.
  • Overview of Energy Efficiency and Demand Response in the U.S. Market by Lisa Wood, June 2009
    This presentation outlines how much is being spent on energy efficiency and demand response by electric utilities, as well as some of the considerable policy challenges ahead.
  • Summary of the Waxman-Markey Bill: Efficiency Provisions by IEE, June 2009
    This summary prepared by IEE staff summarizes the energy efficiency provisions of HR 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (the Waxman-Markey Bill). Notably, the bill includes energy efficiency as an eligible portion of the proposed Renewable Electricity Standard.
  • Energy Efficiency Spending and Savings Nationwide by Lisa Wood, April 2009
    Using historic data from EIA and projections from EPRI's latest forecast, this presentation shows the achieved savings attributable to energy efficiency and demand response programs, as well as the considerable, yet very feasible, potential savings from effective and widespread energy efficiency programs.
  • Taking Demand Response to New Levels by Lisa Wood, NARUC Winter Committee Meeting, February 2009
    In this presentation delivered before the NARUC Committee on Electricity, Lisa Wood discusses the deployment of advanced metering infrastructure and the importance of dynamic pricing in engaging the mass market.
  • Potential for Energy Efficiency in the Power Sector and the Role of IEE by Lisa Wood, January 2009
    This presentation is a primer on the importance of energy efficiency and its potential in addressing future demand for electricity. The forecast numbers are taken from a January 2009 EPRI report and present realistically achievable savings for energy efficiency and demand response programs nationwide.
  • Customer Response to Demand Side Technologies by Lisa Wood, GridWeek, September 2008
    This presentation was delivered during the Impact of Consumer Choice & Control panel, where IEE Executive Director Lisa Wood addressed the relationship between efficient pricing and technology in effective demand response programs.

Articles

  • Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Smart Meters by Lisa Wood, November 2011
    Across the nation, utilities are transforming their transmission and distribution grids with digital technology and replacing analog meters with smart meters. This article published by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association summarizes the findings of IEE's recent study on the costs and benefits of smart meters.
  • EE at Work: Energy Management at the Outlet by Lisa wood, October 2011
    A burgeoning in-home technology industry is growing, and offering consumers real-time information interfaces that provide automation and granular electricity usage information at the very point where most customers and electricity meet: the outlet. This column describes some of the available technologies, and the utility programs that are implementing them in the mass market.
  • EE at Work: The Benefits of Residential Smart Meters by Lisa Wood and Adam Cooper, August 2011
    As the nation's utilities deploy smart meters as the basic building block of the smart grid, a question lingers among regulators, consumer advocates, and utilities themselves: "What are the smart meters' benefits and how do we engage customers to reap them?" This column outlines IEE's recent study to quantify the costs and benefits of smart meters for residential customers and summarizes the net benefits for a range of utility and customer types.
  • Electric Vehicles and the Tipping Point: Battery Technology, Gas Prices, and Infrastructure prepared by Robert Marritz, ElectricityPolicy.com, July 2011
    Excerpted from the Edison Foundation's Powering the People conference held in March 2011, this colloquy reproduces the Electric Vehicles panel discussion. DTE Executive Chairman Tony Earley moderates this discussion of electric vehicle technologies, deployment, and infrastructure with panelists Ted Craver, Nancy Gioia, Britta Gross, Don Karner, and Jim Piro.
  • EE at Work: Meeting Efficiency Goals Through Codes and Standards by Lisa Wood, June 2011
    The nation's electricity use continues to grow. But a recent IEE study found that an increase in energy efficiency standards for new appliances and a tightening of residential and commercial building energy codes could help offset anticipated growth over the next 15 years. This column summarizes the study's findings, making the case that now is the time for utilities to integrate codes and standards into existing EE portfolios.
  • Smart Homes, Smart Customers: A Solid Case Study and Further Thoughts prepared by Robert Marritz, ElectricityPolicy.com, June 2011
    Excerpted from the Edison Foundation's Powering the People conference held in March 2011, this colloquy reproduces the Smart Homes panel discussion. NV Energy CEO Michael Yackira moderates this discussion of innovative in-home energy management techologies and information and behavior-based energy efficiency programs with panelists Ron Binz, Scott Lang, and Peter Delaney.
  • EE at Work: A Continuum of Energy Education by Lisa Wood, April 2011
    Technology is a key component of EE, but to solve our energy problems, we need electric customers to be part of the solution. This column outlines the education and outreach efforts of Avista Utilities, an approach that focuses on continuous engagement with customers at all phases of life to alter their personal relationship with energy in real time and into the future.
  • Building the Smart Meters Business Case by Lisa Wood, January 2011
    Electric utilities in 43 states are proceeding with plans to install smart meters. Over 16 million meters have already been installed and an estimated 65 million customers (over half the nation's homes) will have smart meters nationwide by 2020. Moving to smart meters requires significant utility investments. In this article, published in PowerGrid magazine, Lisa Wood describes the benefits smart meters deliver, both to customers and to utilities.
  • EE at Work: The Power of Public/Private Partnership by Lisa Wood, December 2010
    In September, Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers and Cisco CEO John Chambers, along with Charlotte Center City Partners CEO Michael Smith, Charlotte Mayer Anthony Foxx, and former President Bill Clinton, announced an ambitious public/private collaboration called Envision Charlotte aimed at reducing electricity usage in Charlotte by 20% by 2016. This column outlines the program, and the partnerships that are creating a replicable model for community-based sustainability.
  • Power Measurements: Dynamic Pricing and Low-Income Customers by Lisa Wood and Ahmad Faruqui, November 2010
    By encouraging customers to shift some of their demand on critical days to off-peak hours, dynamic prices can help utilities defer the need for additional capacity. But how does dynamic pricing affect low-income customers? This article, published in Public Utilities Fortnightly magazine, summarizes the findings of IEE's study of the impact of dynamic pricing on low income customers, arguing that dynamic rates do benefit low income customers, both by virtue of their lower-than-average load shapes, and because low income customers respond to rates by shifting load.
  • EE at Work: Smart Appliances and Ubiquitous DR by Lisa Wood, September 2010
    In August 2010, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers announced a landmark agreement between appliance manufacturers and energy and environmental advocates to support a suite of new appliance efficiency standards, production tax credits for efficient models, and the inclusion of smart-grid readiness in the ENERGY STAR program. This column outlines the potential of mass market smart appliances to revolutionize energy efficiency and demand response programs as well as the challenges of meeting this potential.
  • EE at Work: Smart Meter Customer Communication by Lisa Wood, July 2010
    Across the country, utilities are trying to engage their customers and educate them about smart meter rollouts. Responding to concerns from both customers and state regulators, utilties are redoubling their outreach efforts. Southern California Edison's (SCE) Edison SmartConnect program stands as an example of how to effectively manage such efforts. This column outlines SCE's approach to outreach and identifies specific questions customer have about smart meters utilities should focus on in their communication plans.
  • EE at Work: Creating Value through Partnerships by Lisa Wood, May 2010
    By engaging customers in new ways and communicating the true benefits and costs of smart meters to customers, utilities can position themselves in front of smart meter backlash, resolving conflicts before they begin. To reach customers and maintain credibility it helps to have partners. This article describes the innovative, collaborative, and community-oriented approach to partnerships ComEd is taking to support its large-scale smart meter pilot in Illinois.
  • New Directions in Energy Efficiency by Lisa Wood, April 2010
    Community-based outreach is just one of the exciting new approaches that the electric power industry is taking to help their customers become more energy efficient. This article, published in Platt's Insight magazine, describes several key trends in the energy efficiency community, including new approaches to program outreach, developments in the regulatory landscape, growing budgets and savings goals and mandates, and the importance of energy efficiency as a sustainable value proposition for electric utility business models.
  • EE at Work: The Innovation is in the Outreach by Lisa Wood, April 2010
    Despite recent expansions of EE efforts nationwide, there is a large and persistent gap between potential and achieved savings. Social marketing is a promising strategy for closing this gap, and community based approaches have the potential to significantly increase EE program penetration rates. This article outlines Progress Energy's Neighborhood Energy Saver program, which is harnessing the power of communities to capture savings in traditionally hard to reach markets.
  • Alternative Financing Mechanisms for Energy Efficiency by Matthew McCaffree, February 2010
    Alternative financing mechanisms can provide consumers with the access to capital they need in order to afford energy efficiency investments.  This brief explores financing as a barrier to efficiency investment, the types of solutions being employed by utilities nationwide, and how electric utilities view the potential benefits and risks of alternative financing.
  • EE at Work: Incentives and Investments by Lisa Wood, February 2010
    Despite it's importance to utility resource portfolios, aggressive implementation of EE has often lagged in the past due to regulatory policies that put it on an unequal playing field with investments in supply-side resources.  But, adoption of state regulatory policies that balance utility incentives and EE investments is on the upswing and is reflected in increased budgets for EE programs nationwide. This article discusses recent progress on regulatory frameworks for EE.
  • "The Right Price" by Lisa Wood, Electric Perspectives, November/December 2009
    The high cost of serving customers during peak demand hours can be ameliorated or avoided entirely through pricing mechanisms that more accurately reflect that cost. This article for the final EP edition of 2009 summarizes different types of dynamic pricing mechanisms and outlines the benefits to both utilities and customers.
  • EE at Work: Accepting Codes & Standards by Lisa Wood, Electric Perspectives, October 2009
    This edition of EE at Work focuses on the need for more ambitious codes and standards in order to promote energy efficiency. The article includes past examples as well as opportunities for the US utility sector.
  • EE at Work: Real-Time Building Tune-Ups by Lisa Wood, Electric Perspectives, August 2009
    Building commissioning has traditionally been a punctuated effort - energy use is optimized when buildings are first occupied and, if under energy-conscious management, periodically thereafter. This article discusses the process and promise of efficiency gains through monitoring-based building commissioning, which continually monitors and adjusts energy use within a facility.
  • Smart Meters and Rates: Building a Case by Lisa Wood, SPARK, June 2009
    In this article, Lisa Wood discusses how smart meters and dynamic rate structures work as complementary solutions to decrease peak load. Five IEE member programs are profiled and summarized.
  • EE at Work: Selling Energy Efficiency as a Resource by Lisa Wood, Electric Perspectives, May 2009
    PJM recently became the second in dependant system operator, after ISO New England, to include energy efficiency in their forward capacity market. Download the article to learn more about their innovative approaches to treating EE as a resource.
  • Making the Business of Energy Efficiency both Scalable and Sustainable by Lisa Wood & Roland Risser, The Brookings Institution, April 2009
    IEE Executive Director, Lisa Wood, and Director of Customer Energy Efficiency for PG&E, Roland Risser, discuss the potential savings from energy efficiency and explain the importance of employing new business models to make it a scalable and sustainable resource.
  • EE at Work: A Good Framework is the First Step by Lisa Wood, Electric Perspectives, March 2009
    In March 2007, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission authorized Idaho Power's three-year decoupling pilot along with a complementary incentive program. This article examines the unforeseen challenges of that program and the lessons learned.
  • EE at Work: Consumer Electronics in California by Lisa Wood, Electric Perspectives, January 2009
    As the average number of consumer electronics per household continues to climb, Pacific Gas & Electric is working with manufacturers and retailers to create a better standard for new gadgets. Lisa Wood describes the "Save More" program in the January/February 2009 edition of Electric Perspectives.
  • EE at Work: KCPL and the Sierra Club by Lisa Wood, Electric Perspectives, November 2008
    How might energy efficiency play a role in the construction of fossil-fuel fired plants? IEE Executive Director Lisa Wood discusses the recent collaboration between Kansas City Power & Light and The Sierra Club in the November edition of Electric Perspectives.
  • EE at Work: BGE Beats the Heat by Lisa Wood, Electric Perspectives, October 2008
    In this column, Executive Director Lisa Wood discusses the pricing pilot program design and findings from BGE’s smart energy pricing pilot completed during summer 2008.
  • Time to Save: Business Models for Efficiency by Lisa Wood, EnergyBiz Magazine, September 2008
    In this short policy piece, Executive Director Lisa Wood discusses different business models that aim to make energy efficiency a scalable and sustainable business for electric utilities.

Dynamic Pricing and Smart Grid Resources

  • Summary of Dynamic Pricing Programs for the Residential Sector, by IEE, December 2009
    This map indicates which states have at least one IOU-administered dynamic pricing program available to residential customers. Dynamic pricing programs covered in this summary include critical peak pricing (CPP), real time pricing (RTP), and peak time rebate (PTR)/critical peak rebate (CPR) rate structures.
  • Rethinking 'Dumb' Rates, by Rick Morgan, Public Utilities Fortnightly, March 2009
    In this article, Commissioner Rick Morgan discusses the need for smart rates to complement smart meters, grids, and appliances. It includes a description of different dynamic pricing mechanisms and consumer benefits.
  • Home Area Network (HAN) Overview by PG&E, January 2009
    This presentation from Pacific Gas and Electric summarizes current developments in home area network deployment, technology, integration with smart grid strategy, and the different types of HAN programs.
  • Smart Meter Program Overview by PG&E, December 2008
    Pacific Gas & Electric has one of the most ambitious smart meter programs in the country and anticipates providing each of their customers with an advanced meter by 2012. This presentation reviews the technology, their deployment strategy, and the dynamic pricing structure to complement the meters.
  • The IEE organized an eForum in November 2008 to provide an opportunity for members to discuss recent pilots and lessons learned. The following three presentations summarize the programs for Baltimore Gas & Electric, PSE&G, and Southern California Edison.

Other Resources

  • Summary of Ratepayer-Funded Electric Efficiency Impacts, Expenditures, and Budgets (2009 - 2010) by IEE, Updated January 2011
    This brief, developed by the Institue for Electric Efficiency (IEE), summarizes U.S. ratepayer-funded 2009 electric efficiency impacts and expenditures and 2010 budgets for energy efficiency programs from utility and non-utility administrators in the U.S. Based on data gathered by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) from voluntary responses and public data from 195 electric efficiency program administrators nationwide, the report shows that U.S. customer-funded electric efficiency budgets roughly doubled from $2.7 billion to $5.4 billion between 2007 and 2010.  The data show that in the U.S. ratepayer-funded electric efficiency programs saved over 92 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity in 2009.  This update includes revisions to Arkasas' figures. To view full results, please visit www.cee1.org.
  • Updated Summary of Ratepayer-Funded Electric Efficiency Impacts, Expenditures, and Budgets (Based on CEE/IEE Industry Database) by IEE, May 2010
    In 2009 the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE), with the Institute for Electric Efficiency (IEE) and the American Gas Association (AGA), collected industry-wide data on ratepayer-funded energy impacts, expenditures, and budgets for energy efficiency programs from utility and non-utility administrators of energy efficiency in the U.S. and Canada.  This brief summarizes the U.S. ratepayer-funded electric efficiency results based on voluntary responses from 133 electric efficiency program administrators nationwide including 2009 budgets of $4.4 billion and savings of over 96 billion kWh in 2008. This updated version corrects Table 2, updating state-by-state spending and budget figures.
  • Changes in State Regulatory Frameworks for Utility Administered Energy Efficiency Programs by IEE, April 2010
    Over the past two years, state regulatory commissions have made significant progress in aligning utility incentives to invest in energy efficiency. As a result, budgets for electric energy efficiency programs have increased significantly, from $2.7 billion in 20007 to $4.4 billion in 2009. This document sumarizes the status of state regulatory frameworks for utility administered energy efficiency programs (direct cost recovery, lost revenue recovery, and performance incentives) in the U.S. and highlights the changes between 2007 and the present.

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