December 2015
“Optimizing Communications to Low-Income Utility Customers”
Starting this month, we’re modifying our approach to the Featured Member of the Month. In this space we’ll be sharing profiles of VAEEC members and their most innovative and relevant programs in an effort to foster more information sharing and knowledge building among our network. Thanks to Opower for being our “guinea pig” with this new approach and for sharing their story.
Finding ways to save energy and shrink utility bills can make a huge difference for low-income families across the U.S. struggling to make ends meet.
VAEEC member Opower – a company that helps utilities around the world reduce energy consumption and improve relationships with their customers – engages more than 500,000 low-income customers across the U.S. through targeted, personalized communications, empowering low-income families with the information they need to lower their bills.
There are often assumptions that low-income customers would have trouble reducing their energy usage because they have fewer appliances to turn off. Yet Opower has found that EE savings are on par with average customer savings. Further, low-income customers are even more likely than non-low-income customers to take equipment-based actions – things like insulating doors, installing efficient appliances/lighting, insulating attic, etc. — in response to Opower’s Home Energy Reports (HERs). These actions might be undertaken on their own or through weatherization programs that utilities and others offer. And low-income customers report higher rates of satisfaction with the HERs than average customers.
“Opower is committed to giving utilities tools to bring more value to their customers and their communities. There’s a great deal we can do to help low-income families by empowering them with insights that are tailored to their needs and provide practical ways they can reduce energy costs,” says Alex Laskey, Opower President and Co-Founder.
The lessons Opower has learned (and shared through various resources like the white papers which you can access below) in their outreach to low-income customers has huge implications.
“The U.S. Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program reaches fewer than 25% of eligible households, yet the needs of low-income families are growing. As funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and LIHEAP decrease or fades away completely, it is critical to help families maximize the value of every available dollar. Energy efficiency offers a promising opportunities to help low-income families manage their energy costs,” says Jim Kapsis, Opower’s Vice President of Global Policy & Regulatory Affairs.
You can download two of Opower’s white papers on this topic on their website:
Unlocking Energy Efficiency for Low-Income Utility Customers: Four Key Lessons from Real-World Program Experience
Beyond Weatherization: How Innovative Program Strategies Can Enhance Core Low-Income Programs
Arlington County government joined VAEEC in 2014. The Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy (AIRE) helps our community make smart decisions about energy and supports individual actions that improve and sustain Arlington’s quality of life. Through rethinking energy, we are committed to energy practices that will make Arlington County a more prosperous, healthful, safe and secure place to live, work and play. Come join us.
LEAP is a nonprofit energy services organization with a mission to lead the effort in local communities to 
implement energy efficient technologies in buildings to promote cost savings for families and businesses, job creation, energy self-reliance, local economic development, and the mitigation of climate change. LEAP’s alliance model is a community-based, public-private partnership.
At Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, we are always exploring and evaluating new ways to operate in harmony with the environment. ODEC’s energy innovation initiatives are promoted under the slogan “We Put All of Our Energy into Energy” to outline our commitment to conserving energy.
PEG’s “Tactical Technical” mission is to provide world class engineering and environmental consulting for the THINKING ENVIRONMENT.
Learn more about PEG.
Trane’s Performance Contracting Portfolio consists of healthcare, higher education, laboratories, military bases, local governments, and K-12 schools. Having worked with many PC clients in the Commonwealth, Trane has earned a reputation for responsible project development, quality design and execution, and “getting results” for customers.
D+R International is an energy efficiency market expert company. The firm leverages its relationships, built over its 30-year history, with energy efficiency advocates, utilities, product manufacturers and retailers to identify and design practical, cost-effective, high-impact solutions that address our nation’s energy problems and deliver environmental benefits.
VAEEC is pleased to spotlight the companies, organizations, utilities and municipalities it works with to advance energy efficiency in Virginia.
September 2012: Rappahannock Electric Cooperative
http://www.myrec.coop
Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC) delivers electricity to over 155,000 connections throughout portions of 22 counties in Virginia. As an industry leader, REC brings innovative technology, programs and services to its members, allowing them to easily incorporate and adopt energy efficiency initiatives into their daily routines.
In what ways does your company promote or service energy efficiency in your programs?
As a not-for-profit electric utility, REC focuses on providing its members with solutions they can rely on to improve their quality of life and the comfort of their home. REC works directly with its members through education programs (like the Together We Save campaign) and initiatives (such as its new Home Performance with ENERGY STAR pilot program) that focus on energy efficiency. As an industry leader, REC has been offering members the opportunity to participate in demand response programs since 1978, when it launched its water heater load management program. As a provider of both water heater and air conditioning load management programs, REC members are able to voluntarily contribute to Co-op wide load reduction.
How do you describe the value of energy efficiency to your customers and members?
REC recognizes that energy efficiency is the key to managing energy usage and lowering energy bills, and serves as a primary supplement to new generation resources. Through consistent and comprehensive programs, services and communications about little changes adding up to big energy savings, REC is making its members, and the communities it serves, contributors to efforts to ensure electricity remains reliable and affordable.
What innovations or trends do you expect to see in the near future?
Awareness and availability of information are crucial elements for REC’s members as the Cooperative strives to empower them to take advantage of energy efficiency services and energy management. With evolving tools and resources, REC expects to offer advanced technology, enabling members to better understand how they are using electricity, when they are using electricity and how to make adjustments to meet their desired expense goals. These efforts will allow members to make lasting changes to their lifestyles, and to make effective decisions about how they are using devices and equipment within their homes and about where their dollars go. As energy policies are formed at the local, state and national levels, members will likely begin to see increased opportunities to utilize renewable energy within their power grid.
What do you hope to accomplish as part of the VAEEC?
REC wants to position itself as an industry leader in energy efficiency and to help guide statewide initiatives already in place or ones that will be developed in the future. The Cooperative is looking out for the best interests of its members, while working with other organizations and companies to develop consistent statewide messages, programs and services that benefit all consumers in Virginia. With a 75-year history, REC’s experience, knowledgeable team of employees, and nationwide network of electric cooperatives, REC aims to assist the state in becoming a model for energy efficiency.
VAEEC is pleased to spotlight the companies, organizations, utilities and municipalities it works with to advance energy efficiency in Virginia.
August 2012: Comverge
http://www.comverge.com
With more than 500 utility and 2,100 commercial customers, as well as five million residential deployments, Comverge brings unparalleled industry knowledge and experience to offer the most reliable, easy-to-use, and cost-effective intelligent energy management programs. We deliver the insight and control that enables energy providers and consumers to optimize their power usage through the industry’s only proven, comprehensive set of technology, services and information management solutions.
In what ways does your company promote or service energy efficiency in Virginia?
Comverge works with a variety of customers across the country to deploy intelligent energy management solutions that optimize the deployment and execution of demand response programs such as direct load control and dynamic pricing. In Virginia, Comverge provides services to Dominion Virginia Power by providing the technology, both hardware and software, to enable its AC cycling program. This program allows Dominion to call upon the AC cycling switches to reduce the energy load during peak demand hours.
What do you tell your customers is the value of energy efficiency?
The solutions that utilities incorporate into their energy efficiency and demand response programs are important resources. Demand for energy is growing rapidly in areas of Virginia and it will take a portfolio of generation, efficiency and demand reduction efforts to ensure a reliable, affordable supply is available.
What innovations or trends do you hope to see in the near future?
As technology and energy policy continue to evolve in Virginia, we will see exciting new energy management solutions. With the expansion of smart grid and advanced metering infrastructure throughout the country, we will have unprecedented information and control over the energy we use in both residential and commercial applications. As the consumer learns more about where they are using energy, and when they are provided with the appropriate incentives, their usage habits will change to be more efficient. Additionally, with advanced metering technology, distributed generation will become a reality and alternate energy sources such as solar and wind will be able to contribute more cost-effectively to the energy portfolio.
What do you hope to accomplish as part of the VAEEC?
We hope to continue the great work begun by the Virginia utilities and the SCC in raising awareness across industry, consumer and political groups on the advantages of energy efficiency and demand response solutions. We hope to combine our know-how, market reach and ideas with the stakeholders across the state to develop the compelling story of energy efficiency and promote efforts to enable the market to grow for this critical element of Virginia’s energy solution.
