|
May 23, 2024 – With this spring issue of NESP News you’ll find valuable new resources, including recently launched training programs: Learn how to conduct benefit-cost analyses (BCA) and distributional equity analyses (DEA), including an opportunity to become NSPM Certified™. See where and how states are referencing or using the National Standard Practice Manual™ (NSPM), and check out NESP’s forthcoming projects. This news is made possible in large part thanks to NESP’s many partners and supporters. Happy reading!
— Julie Michals, Director
|
| |
--NESP & AESP Launch Training Program
--Is the NSPM Right for Your Jurisdiction?
--Illinois DEA Case Study: EE and BE Plans
| | |
--What's In Store for 2024
--NESP’s Future -- and Thanks
--Upcoming Events
| |
NESP & AESP Launch Training Program
| |
The National Energy Screening Project (NESP™) and the Association of Energy Services Professionals (AESP) recently launched a new training program intended for utilities, consultants, regulators, consumer advocates and others involved in planning, assessing and/or evaluating investments in DERs.
| | |
Upcoming events include:
How to Conduct a Distributional Equity Analysis to Inform DER Investment Decisions
June 17-18 and 20-21 (2-4pm ET daily) Virtual Training
(Earn CEUs/PDs)
Many states and utilities are looking for ways to account for energy equity when deciding whether and how utilities should support DERs. This multi-day course will describe how distributional equity analysis can be used in conjunction with benefit-cost analyses to assess the equity impacts of distributed energy resources.
Instructors: Jasmine McAdams (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory); Alice Napolean (Synapse Energy Economics) and Quinn Parker (Encolor Consulting).
--Day 1 (6/17) will provide a primer on energy equity including review of different equity dimensions, definitions, and equity in program design.
--Days 2-4 will focus on how to conduct a DEA using U.S. DOE forthcoming guidance Distributional Equity Analysis for Energy Efficiency and Other Distributed Energy Resources: A Practical Guide. Attendees will learn how DEAs can be used to inform decisions to advance energy equity goals, including investing in a new DER program, supporting an existing program, or redesigning programs.
See the full course description and register here.
| | |
Conducting BCA for Distributed Energy Resources using the NSPM - Become NSPM CertifiedTM
July 22-23 In-person 2-day training Toronto, Ontario
Attendees who complete this course will gain a solid foundation of BCA core principles, an understanding of how BCA fits within a broader regulatory decision-making framework, and hands-on experience delving into hypothetical BCA exercises for example DER use cases.
Earn the NSPM Certified™ credential to:
1) be well-positioned to apply NSPM guidance to your work;
2) differentiate from other practitioners, as jurisdictions increasingly reference and use the NSPM to guide DER evaluations.
Instructors will include Chris Neme (Energy Futures Group) and Steve Schiller (Schiller Consulting).
See the full course description and register here.
| |
|
Benefit-Cost Analysis of Distributed Energy Resource Investments
Sept. 21-24 (2-4pm ET daily) Virtual Training
(Earn CEUs/PDs)
Missed the BCA Training in March? You can join a session this September with the same instructors: Sami Khawaja (Cadmus Group) providing a primer on BCA followed by a deeper dive into key BCA topics from the NSPM with Tim Woolf and Courtney Lane (Synapse Energy Economics) and Karl Rábago (Rábago Energy).
Mark your calendar now, and check NESP Events for registration details this summer.
| | |
Topical BCA training webinars coming soon
Two-hour focused webinars will dive deep into BCA topics evaluators love, such as:
- How should one treat tax incentives (or transfer payments) in a BCA / associated geographic boundaries?
- What is the right discount rate to use for different cost tests?
- What is the applicability and/or materiality of different value streams for various DER types and use cases?
- How does one calculate the social cost of carbon using a damage cost methodology vs. abatement cost approach to value GHG emission reductions?
- Other head-scratching BCA topics that keep you up at night!
| |
| |
Want to Host a Training?
If your company or organization is interested in hosting an in-person NSPM CertifiedTM training event near you, please contact Kristi Hewitt (AESP’s Training Manager) at khewitt@aesp.org.
| | | |
Is the NSPM Right for Your Jurisdiction?
| | Is your jurisdiction looking to improve cost-effectiveness analyses for its energy efficiency programs, or a distributed storage and solar project, or analyzing DER value streams in the context of grid planning? See how states are using the NSPM BCA framework across a range of regulatory contexts. NESP’s Methods, Tools & Resources Handbook for Quantifying DER Impacts is also helping to guide methodologies used to analyze the full range of potential costs and value streams of DERs. | | |
NSPM in the News -- Virginia SAVE Act Looks to the NSPM
Energy News Network published a story highlighting key points about the NSPM's value in the design of a cost-effectiveness test for Virginia's energy efficiency landscape under the newly-enacted Savings Achieved Via Efficiency (SAVE) Act -- aimed at improving the transparency and effectiveness of energy-saving programs. State regulators "will draw on recommendations from the National Standard Practice Manual." With this, Virginia sets a precedent for using the NSPM guidance to inform cost-effectiveness. See the article: Virginia lawmakers reached a compromise on energy efficiency here’s what it will mean for utilities and regulators.
| | |
Featured State: Maryland
Maryland just completed a process to apply the NSPM BCA framework to develop a recommended Maryland Unified BCA (MD-UBCA) test to the Maryland Public Service Commission as its primary cost-effectiveness test for all distributed energy resources (Case No. 9674). The recommended MD-UBCA and full report -- Maryland Unified Benefit-Cost Analysis (UBCA) Framework for Distributed Energy Resources responds to Order 90212. Recommendations were developed through a work group process (8 virtual meetings, applying NSPM 5-step process), verbal and written comments on draft and final draft reports covering a range of BCA topics, and a request for a Phase II process to address methodologies for quantifying DER impacts and guidance on conducting DEA. Questions on the Commission's process? Contact PSC Advisor Brett Sproul: brett.sproul@maryland.gov.
How are other states using or referencing the NSPM?
A map of where the NSPM now informs cost-effectiveness analyses of DERs across North America shows 14 jurisdictions using the NSPM framework, and 31 more jurisdictions where the NSPM is recommended for adoption. See this detailed summary of NSPM references.
| | |
DOE Funded State Technical Assistance on BCA and More!
Is your jurisdiction in need of technical assistance (TA) to support improving benefit-cost analysis of DERs? If so, resources may be available via a new U.S. Department of Energy state TA program offered through LBNL and other DOE labs on a range of electricity planning and market topics. Applications for “deep dive” TA are due by June 19, with award announcements mid- to late September 2024. For details, see the State TA Program.
| |
Illinois DEA Case Studies Underway
| | |
The forthcoming DEA Guide (see NESP's last newsletter) serves as the basis for a case study project funded by Joyce Foundation and E4TheFuture. A Project Team comprising E4TheFuture, Synapse Energy Economics and the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA) is applying the stages illustrated below.
Stages in Distributional Equity Analysis
| | |
With guidance from Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) staff, the Project Team convened a DEA Work Group in March 2024. This kickoff reviewed project scope, relevant state policies e.g., the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) and the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), and their statutory equity considerations – and reviewed Stage 1 guidance. This helped to ensure engagement with a broad group of stakeholders such as community-based organizations and to address financial barriers to participation. MEEA is providing compensation for eligible DEA Work Group community participants.
In May, the Work Group addressed Stage 2, proposing specific DEA context:
--DER type (energy efficiency, demand response, distributed storage, etc.)
--DEA application (individual programs or investments, multiple programs, or comparison)
--DEA timeframe, for a planned program or portfolio (prospective) or a previously established program or portfolio (retrospective)
--Geographic scope: The service area to be used (utility service area, and/or subset e.g., urban, suburban, or rural)
The Project Team discussed the spectrum between a comprehensive and streamlined DEA, highlighting the adaptability of the analysis framework to best serve Illinois’s needs.
Initially, this team considered options for DEA contexts centered on the energy efficiency (EE) and beneficial electrification (BE) plans of the two main electric utilities, ComEd and Ameren Illinois. In consultation with ICC staff and utility representatives, and based on available data in public filings, the Project Team narrowed options to a straw proposal for two case studies: one focused on ComEd’s EE plan and the other on Ameren’s BE plan. Plan summaries are shown in the table:
| | |
Work Group participants raised questions on key metrics such as job creation in eligible communities -- a key part of the CEJA legislation -- and how jobs and economic development could be considered. The Project Team plans to address this in depth with the Work Group as equity metrics are identified and prioritized (Stage 4 of the DEA process).
Work Group meetings will continue through this year, culminating in a final report in Q2 2025. More information is on the project website.
--Thanks to Trevor Worthy (Northwestern University / MEEA intern) for contributing content
| | |
Watch for upcoming NESP projects that can help inform your efforts to conduct BCA for DERs. Key projects include:
BCA Heat Pump Retrofit Case Study: In 2022, we published detailed case studies on BCA for three different DER use cases:
- Residential EV Managed Charging
- Commercial Solar + Storage Controlled Dispatch
- Residential Grid-interactive Efficient Building Retrofit
This year, SEPA and ICF are again developing a detailed BCA case study that applies NSPM guidance. Its focus: a Heat Pump Retrofit (HPR) program for a Multi-family building program. Check NESP’s BCA Use Case Examples webpage where it will appear by early July.
How Should One Account for Tax Incentives in BCAs? NESP has commissioned a paper on the treatment of tax incentives and other potential transfer payments, building on an article from our last NESP News. Some BCA impacts from DERs can be described as transfers between two different parties where one party experiences a cost that is offset by a benefit experienced by another party. Because it is not always obvious whether an impact is a transfer, careful consideration may be needed. The paper by Synapse Energy Economics (anticipated in June) will clarify the treatment of transfers when conducting a BCA.
Revised NSPM on the Horizon! It’s been nearly four years since NESP published the NSPM now widely seen as indispensable. We’ve learned so much applying the guidance in states; it’s time to incorporate some of that learning into a new version. The team will refine and clarify guidance to reflect evolving DER use cases and regulatory contexts. We invite your suggestions for NSPM improvements: Send to nspm@nationalenergyscreeningproject.org.
| | NESP's Future and Thanks to Supporters | | |
An Update on the Future of the National Energy Screening Project – and Many Thanks!
As you may know, the work of NESP is managed and funded by E4TheFuture, a non-profit public charity supported by an endowment since 2015. As interest in NESP and use of its resources continues to expand across the U.S. and beyond, E4TheFuture’s Board of Directors is committed to exploring new revenue models that can, over time, serve to fully sustain NESP’s work. Such models include: the new BCA and DEA training program announced in this newsletter; technical assistance services NESP staff can provide to regulatory commissions in BCA dockets; and federal and/or foundation funds to support maintenance of the NSPM and supporting documents. These funding models are being tested this year and into 2025.
Thank you! In the meantime, E4TheFuture appreciates the support of -- and collaboration among -- many organizations that help to build education around, and support the use of, the NSPM and other NESP resources. These include: Advanced Energy United, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, AnnDyl, the Association of Energy Services Professionals, the California Efficiency Demand Management Council, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, and the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance. Special thanks to the NSPM experts (co-author team) – Synapse Energy Economics, Energy Futures Group, Schiller Consulting, Rábago Energy, ICF and the Smart Electric Power Alliance – which collectively have provided extensive education and application of the NSPM BCA framework in jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada.
The reach of the NSPM and other NESP work over the past years would not be possible without the support of these organizations and consulting teams. Many thanks!
| | |
-
June 17-18 & 20-21, 2024. How to Conduct a Distributional Equity Analysis to Inform DER Investment Decisions, Live Virtual (see details above, “NESP & AESP Launch Training Program”).
-
July 22-23, 2024. Conducting Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) for Distributed Energy Resources using the NSPM. (In-person training certification program, Toronto, Ontario. (see details above, “NESP & AESP Launch Training Program”).
Check for updates on NESP's events page:
| | | | |
