By Danielle Wilson | Tue, May 20, 14
Join NEEP on Monday, June 2 in Newport as we gather a mix of policymakers, program administrators, system planners, federal agencies, and EM&V practitioners for a pre-Summit workshop on the evolving evaluation, measurement, and verification (EM&V) world.
With all the buzz around streamlining EM&V as the efficiency resource grows — through developments such as use of national EM&V protocols, access to and use of 'big data' and smart meters/devices, and use of emerging automated M&V tools — it's hard to sort out what’s happening when and what key barriers we must overcome before we see the EM&V 2.0 world evolve. Panel topics will include:
(1) What's on the minds of policy makers and system planners around EM&V?
(2) What's in your EM&V Mix?
(3) US DOE's EE Savings Protocols - Why, What, Where and How?
(4) Streamlining EM&V: Using 'Big Data' and Automated M&V Tools
(5) The 5th Top Thing to Know – the audience decides!
C/E, UMP, DOE, Net Savings: an alphabet soup of EM&V Forum project updates
Cost-Effectiveness Screening Project: Last September NEEP’s EM&V Forum issued a final survey of state cost effectiveness screening practices conducted by Synapse Energy Economics — the results of which showed some important differences in practices — in particular around the use of discount rates, and the varying levels of inclusion of non-energy benefits where states use the total resource cost (TRC) test, the primary test used in the region.
Phase 2 will develop guidance for states on cost-effectiveness screening based upon the findings from the September 2013 report and a national effort on cost-effectiveness screening led by the National Home Performance Council (NHPC), known as the Resource Value Framework.
The Forum presented a proposed set of principles and scope for Cost-Effectiveness Testing guidance to the Forum Steering Committee in April, and is working with the project subcommittee to develop a draft guidance document. A draft document will be complete in July, with a final document and recommended guidance for Steering Committee adoption in October 2014.
Monitoring National EM&V Protocols — DOE Uniform Methods Project: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through its Uniform Methods Project (UMP) is working to build consistency in state EM&V methods for determining gross savings for priority energy efficiency measures and practices on Net Savings. The effort is being managed by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), with Cadmus Group overseeing the development of the EM&V protocols/guidance documents. The project is informed by a technical advisory group and technical experts and guided by a project Steering Committee, including EM&V Forum Director, Julie Michals. With support from Forum technical advisors, NEEP provided comment on the Department of Energy (DOE)’s draft documents last year, and additional comments on new measures during Q1. Final material published to date is posted online at The Uniform Methods Project: Methods for Determining Energy Efficiency Savings for Specific Measures. Additional protocols and Net Savings Methods guidance are forthcoming in Q2-Q3.
Net Savings Project: The Forum continues to promote greater transparency and consistency in EM&V methods used by Forum states to estimate both gross and net savings. These efforts include sharing information about net savings practices and policy challenges, with a focused effort to monitor and provide input to DOE’s Uniform Methods Project and development of guidance on Net Savings Methods. NEEP provided comments on the draft Net Savings chapter, and reviewed these with Forum members. See DOE’s UMP page for more information.
Coming soon to a Shelf near You! – Mid-Atlantic Technical Reference Manual 2014 Version
The 2014 version of the Mid-Atlantic Technical Reference Manual (TRM), one of the few multi-jurisdictional technical reference manuals in the country, will be available in June. The EM&V Forum maintains and annually updates the Mid-Atlantic TRM, which serves Delaware, the District of Columbia, and Maryland, to provide a basis for reporting energy efficiency program savings impacts. The 2014 updated version incorporates information from recent, locally-conducted evaluations.
Contact Senior Project Manager, Elizabeth Titus with more information on the Mid-Atlantic TRM.