Breakout Sessions

Big Picture Thinking–Integrating bundles and performance-based measures instead of incenting individual measures
When does it make sense to bundle measures that might not be cost effective by themselves with cost effective measures? Over-bundling can lead to portfolios that cost ratepayers more than they need to. Smart bundling, on the other hand, gets you smart measures you might not get otherwise. What are the tests portfolio managers can use to determine when it does, or does not, make sense? How can a portfolio manager use smart bundling to achieve attractive savings over the long run?

But wait, there's more!: Tapping the power of “non-energy” benefits and other best practices. The non-energy benefits of energy efficiency are becoming more important to promoting utility energy efficiency programs, and utilities can take advantage of customer interest in both quantifiable non-energy cost savings and more qualitative benefits. Residential customers (as well as governments) are swayed by qualitative and quantitative improvements in comfort, productivity, job creation, and carbon pollution reduction. Learn about THE definitive report on non-energy benefits of residential energy efficiency retrofits from the National Home Performance Council and how Northwest utilities can capitalize by talking about these added benefits to move the bar on program participation from Clean Energy Works Oregon.

Good Things, Small Packages: The Small/Rural Utilities Forum OFFERED VIRTUALLY: Find out what efforts have been made in the last year to assist small, medium-sized and/or rural utilities to achieve energy-efficiency savings. We’ll have reports from the RTF subcommittee, BPA’s workgroup and NEEA about ongoing efforts to make it easier for small/rural utilities to implement energy-efficiency programs. We’ll discuss some new tools for such utilities and evaluate our progress. Join your colleagues in a conversation about overcoming barriers common to small/rural utilities and share additional ideas and suggestions for overcoming these barriers.

Breakout Sessions

It’s a Good Place to Be: Using the Regional Energy Efficiency Messaging and Marketing Toolkit– The Regional Energy Efficiency Messaging and Marketing toolkit, a collaborative effort between the region’s utilities, was just distributed in the summer of 2012. In this working session, you’ll learn how the messaging works and how to use the toolkit materials to best advantage with your existing marketing campaigns and you’ll hear about the experience of early adopters. In addition, you’ll get an overview of the next phase of toolkit elements. This is an opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussions about marketing campaigns with your peers. It’s best if you have looked at the toolkit in advance of this session so you’re prepared to talk – find it on NEEA’s website,www.neea.org/resource-center/marketing-toolkits . Note: a continuation of the discussion is planned for the “What Next” sessions following the break.

Old Habits, New Habits: Getting Behavior-based savings. In the end, promoting energy efficiency is about changing behaviors. And yet this is the toughest nut to crack, both in changing our customer’s actions and in getting behavior-based savings recognized. Come hear about innovative behavior based programs across the country, learn about the evaluation opportunities and issues and participate in a discussion of how we, as a region, can move the ball forward in this arena.

We Can Work It Out: The Power of Collaboration. Collaboration is business as usual for most of our organizations, but to be effective and rewarding, it requires good planning, clear expectations, and continuous communication. This session will feature three collaborative endeavors among Northwest utilities, market partners, and ETO that offerenergy efficiency services to commercial and industrial customers in our region. Hear the results, challenges and lessons learned from each endeavor. The session will be followed by an interactive discussion between participants and the panelists to identify a checklist of essentials for effective collaboration. Later in the day, participants will have the opportunity to put this checklist to practice in a hands-on session to address a new collaboration opportunity.

• ACEEE Summer Session debrief
• Creative problem-solving for the program manager
• Late-stage careers: Reigniting your passion for energy efficiency

Site Tours (optional)
• Integrated Design Lab: The Spokane Integrated Design Lab is a state of the art demonstration, testing, and educational facility with a focus on integrated design and innovation for sustainability (energy and ecology) in the built environment. Brand new, the space is still being fitted! Participants will see some sensor equipment, displays, project posters, and commercial office environments demonstrating individual control and feedback strategies.

• Avista Program Site Tours
The Spokane Public Facilities District has found that sustainability, LEED and green operations are key assets to attracting conventions and business, as well as being a smart business practice in general to show good stewardship of public funds. Take a quick walk through of the convention center and opera house to touch on some operating aspects.

Kiemle and Hagood, Spokane’s largest property management firm, has been working hard to integrate sustainability practices across their business model. This includes creating value statements, rewriting leases, and implementing a competition among their property managers and building engineers to reduce energy consumption. This is taking them leaps beyond the local market. Visit local commercial buildings and see how the competition has led to energy savings.

Breakout Sessions

Reaching Higher Ground: Integrating LED Lighting into Programs. LED lighting has been described as an approaching tsunami to the lighting world. This session will feature lighting industry representatives with the latest information on what’s in the pipeline, lighting performance, and future pricing. Get ahead of the wave, and join us for this enlightening discussion.

Watch the Savings Flow: New Technology for Irrigation Energy Efficiency. OFFERED VIRTUALLY Would your Ag customers who use pressurized irrigation systems like to run their entire system from their cell phone? Save money? Save energy? Increase per-acre profit? Let's discuss the viability of technology to integrate existing on-farm data - weather, soil moisture probes, soil mapping, and crop yield - to enable growers to decide when and how much water to apply with full understanding of the effect on profit. Or how about full system pressure optimization beyond the known variable frequency drives? Will efficiency measures used in the Texas and New Mexico work in the Northwest? Topics include tools, technology, business case, and working in the Ag culture.

Playing on the Cutting Edge: Integrating and Managing Emerging Technologies.
What's new and exciting in the world of emerging technology? This session will review emerging technologies that have near-term potential; and unveil ones that could hit in the future. Learn about innovations in clothes cleaning, residential water heating, commercial building renewal, and solid-state and digital lighting. Which ones have the greatest potential?

Breakout Sessions

Money Talks: The customer’s perspective on financing EE improvements. More energy efficiency opportunities are identified than implemented. The limiting factor in many cases is the access to the capital necessary to make those investments. This panel will provide an overview to commercial efficiency financing options – both traditional and innovative – and provide insights from a couple of the nation’s more successful financing programs.

Where Your Customers Are: Energy Management as a Plank in Your Customers' Sustainability Strategies. As our commercial and industrial customers join the sustainability movement, energy management becomes more and more important to them. Learn about some bigger trends in the sustainability movement and how they will affect your customers. How will program design adapt to these new customer needs?

Meters in the Home: EM&V's Opportunity in Residential. Metering technologies have become less expensive and more reliable, making feasible greater use of site-based metering to help identify residential energy savings opportunities. In this session we’ll discuss the progress made in site-based metering and the potential impacts on programs such as appliance recycling, lighting, and hot water usage for showerheads and kitchen/bath faucets (flow, temperature, duration of use). We’ll postulate and discuss how site-based metering can support savings estimates, especially for those programs that account for significant portions of a utility’s efficiency portfolio. Metering can provide unique insight into the usage characteristics data in order to determine and validate deemed savings values.