Utility Efficiency Investments, Savings Increase

CEE Releases Twelfth Industry Report

BOSTON, March 21, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Consortium for Energy Efficiency today released its twelfth Annual Industry Report, showing increased energy efficiency and demand response activity in 2016. The Report covers ratepayer-funded programs administered by electricity and gas utilities in the US and Canada.

CEE Executive Director Ed Wisniewski observed, "Amid federal uncertainty, the report indicates that investment in demand side management (DSM) continues with an uptick in 2016 expenditures and 2017 budgets. What the report doesn't capture is that a program presence over time produces a powerful public benefits platform that can be leveraged to serve the growing complexities and obligations of utilities. Future reports will attempt to capture the extent to which DSM investments support regulatory imperatives for climate, distributed generation, and system resiliency objectives."

Expenditures from all funding sources on gas and electric DSM programs in 2016 rose two percent, reaching $8.8 billion. Highlights include:

• Ratepayers contributed $8.5 of the $8.8 billion total. Other funding sources included wholesale capacity market, RGGI, and Weatherization Assistance Program.
• Electric efficiency programs in the United States and Canada spent $7.4 billion; natural gas program expenditures were $1.4 billion.
• Gross savings were 30,166 GWh and 522 million therms.
• US and Canadian demand response programs reduced demand by 41,468 MW in 2016

The Consortium has a twenty-seven-year history of working together on voluntary binational initiatives and positions, of which the CEE Annual Industry Report is one, to advance the demand side management industry. Continuing investments in energy efficiency and demand response are a testament to the attractiveness of demand side management as a clean energy resource with many social and utility benefits.

The power of the CEE Annual Industry Report is in providing an annual trend analysis of energy efficiency and demand response budgets, expenditures, and savings. Compiling program data into an aggregate report of funding and savings offers value to members, regulators, and other organizations. CEE collects data in collaboration with the American Gas Association, making the Report the most extensive research on energy efficiency program funding and impacts. This reputation leads CEE members, federal agencies, industry organizations, evaluators, and others to rely on CEE data for a reliable perspective on energy efficiency trends. The Report, detailed data, and summary graphics are available at cee1.org.

SOURCE Consortium for Energy Efficiency