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Guides and Papers

Resources

More than 60 leading organizations have joined together to develop the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency with a goal to achieve all cost-effective energy efficiency by the year 2025.

The Leadership Group of the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency is committed to taking action to increase investment in cost-effective energy efficiency. A number of key resources were developed under the guidance and with input from the Leadership Group. The resources do not necessarily represent a consensus view and do not represent an endorsement by the organizations of Leadership Group members.

National Action Plan Vision for 2025

This Vision for the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency (Action Plan) establishes a goal of achieving all cost-effective energy efficiency by 2025, presents 10 implementation goals for states, utilities, and other stakeholders to consider to achieve this goal, describes what 2025 might look like if the goal is achieved, and provides a means for measuring progress. It is a framework for implementing the five policy recommendations of the Action Plan, announced in July 2006, which can be modified and improved over time.

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Understanding Cost-Effectiveness of Energy Efficiency Programs: Best Practices, Technical Methods, and Emerging Issues for Policy-Makers

The report on Understanding Cost-Effectiveness of Energy Efficiency Programs reviews the issues and approaches involved in considering and adopting cost-effectiveness tests for energy efficiency, including discussing each perspective represented by the five standard cost-effectiveness tests and clarifying key terms. This report details how there is no single best cost-effectiveness test for evaluating energy efficiency; rather, each of the tests provides different information about the impacts of energy efficiency programs from distinct vantage points in the energy system. Together, multiple tests provide a comprehensive approach.

Utility Best Practices Guidance for Providing Business Customers with Energy Use and Cost Data

The Utility Best Practices Guidance for Providing Business Customers with Energy Use and Cost Data document outlines the need to align utility practices with increasing customer requirements for energy use and cost data. This guidance document summarizes current data practices, outlines the business and policy cases for action, and presents both basic and advanced approaches for providing consistent, standardized electronic energy consumption and cost data to business customers.

Aligning Utility Incentives with Energy Efficiency Investment

The Report on Aligning Utility Incentives with Energy Efficiency Investment describes the financial effects on a utility of its spending on energy efficiency programs, how those effects could constitute barriers to more aggressive and sustained utility investment in energy efficiency, and how adoption of various policy mechanisms can reduce or eliminate these barriers. The Report also provides a number of examples of such mechanisms drawn from the experience of utilities and states.

Guide to Resource Planning with Energy Efficiency

The Guide to Resource Planning with Energy Efficiency describes the key issues, best practices, and main process steps for integrating energy efficiency into resource planning. The Guide details how to use a variety of methods to help ensure that energy efficiency programs provide a resource as dependable and valuable to utilities and their customers as any supply-side resource. The Guide organizes the planning process into ten important steps, each with their own associated technical issues, best practices, and information resources.

Guide for Conducting Energy Efficiency Potential Studies

The Guide for Conducting Energy Efficiency Potential Studies identifies three main applications for energy efficiency potential studies and provides examples of each, along with a description of how key decisions regarding scope and methodology were made to best achieve the studies’ objectives. It also provides an overview of the main analytical steps in conducting a potential study and introduces several related concepts.

Model Energy Efficiency Program Impact Evaluation Guide

The Model Energy Efficiency Program Impact Evaluation Guide describes a structure and several industry-standard approaches for calculating energy, demand, and emissions savings resulting from facility (non-transportation) energy-efficiency programs that are implemented by cities, states, utilities, companies, and other similar entities. By utilizing best practices and consistent, standard procedures, evaluations can support the adoption, continuation, and expansion of efficiency programs.

National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency Report

This Report:

Building Codes and Energy Efficiency Fact Sheet

Building energy codes establish a minimum level of energy efficiency for residential and commercial buildings. This can reduce the need for energy generation capacity and new infrastructure while reducing energy bills. States and municipalities are updating existing codes, adopting new codes, and expanding code programs to improve compliance and achieve real results.

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