Group: Energy Efficiency Upgrades in Buildings

The Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance published The Utility Guide to Tariffed On-Bill Programs, the most definitive current resource (as of January 2020) in the field on this program model. Previously, Energy Efficiency Institute, Inc., the creator of PAYS, produced a Decision Tool for Utility Managers at the request of Roanoke Electric. That valuable resource is…

The How$mart® program offered by Midwest Energy is the largest and longest-running residential tariffed on-bill program using the PAYS system. Midwest Energy has reported that 85% of its general membership gave the cooperative a high score for customer satisfaction, compared to 97% for participants in the How$mart® program. Similarly, the cooperative reported that 68% of…

Before the utility can upgrade a property, the owner must consent. In the same agreement, the owner agrees to disclose to successor renters or prospective buyers that the utility has made improvements that result in savings for the account holder at that site. The agreement provides the owner with language that can be added to…

Yes. Once approved as a tariff, the PAYS charge will be covering costs for an essential utility service, subject to the same disconnection rules as a regular bill.   See: 04 NCAC 11 R12-11 (“Disconnection of Residential Customer’s Electric Service,” which refers simply to the bill and defines payments as “delivery of the amount due…

No. Even while possible, disconnection for non-payment is unlikely because the electric bill at that site is lower as a result of the investment in efficiency upgrades.

Yes, there are cross-subsidies from customers in the opt-in tariff program to non-participants. Two categories of benefits include avoided demand costs and deferred capital requirements. Utility systems with weather-driven peak demand can reduce peak demand by investing in energy efficiency upgrades to weather-driven loads as part of their investments in whole building energy upgrades.   Utility…

Yes. The tariff terms are not affected by a change in occupant behavior or occupancy. The upgrades eliminate energy waste and continue to reduce usage at the location compared to what would have been needed to serve the occupant’s end uses. The tariff does not preclude occupants from using any amount of energy for any…

The average scale of investment in cost-effective energy efficiency upgrades at a site depends on the type of site, weather zone, the energy use equipment in the building, the utility’s cost of capital, and the useful life of the upgrades being undertaken. For residential energy efficiency upgrades undertaken through on-bill programs in Kansas, Kentucky, and…

Yes. It is essential that customers who choose an opt-in tariff program be eligible for the same rebates that are available to customers through rate-based programs in order to avoid creating a reason for customers to not opt in to the tariff.

The utility only bills for service when the meter is active. If a site is vacant, the meter may be shut off, in which case cost recovery will resume when a successor customer opens an account at that site. If the utility misses cost recovery due to inactivity at the meter, the utility can extend…