Date
Monday, November 13, 2023
Time
5:15 PM - 6:45 PM
Name
Beyond kWh: A Systematic Prioritization of Non-Energy Impacts for Equity
Session ID
Poster Presentations
Track
Equity & Empowerment
Description

Utility energy efficiency programs have a variety of non-energy impacts (NEIs), which are most often experienced as benefits to program participants. Although challenging to measure, NEIs such as comfort, health, and safety, are particularly valuable for both low-income customers and customers who are underserved. Given that programs intended for vulnerable customers can be more resource-intensive than traditional program models, better understanding and quantifying NEIs is key to justifying the cost effectiveness of these programs and bolstering participation to achieve equity goals. In the US and Canada, incorporation of NEIs into cost-effectiveness tests is inconsistent and incomplete, often left to “adders” that value program impacts across the whole efficiency portfolio. To help program administrators wholistically review NEIs, CEE is developing a systematic prioritization process to rigorously identify NEIs that are particularly relevant to the equity goals of energy efficiency program administrators in the US and Canada. This poster will highlight initial outcomes from efforts to rank NEIs according to their equity relevance and importance to programs targeting underserved audiences. We’ve developed a list of over 40 NEIs from different perspectives and categories (ranging from health and safety to economic impact) that will be reviewed for their relevance for advancing equity goals and current inclusion across jurisdictions. This poster will highlight which NEIs program administrators should prioritize to support their equity related programs and identify key opportunities for future quantification. We’ll review the implications this work has for program administrators’ ongoing efforts to fully value energy efficiency programs targeted at underserved audiences.