EE Noon: Evaluating EE Results: Are Policy Makers Getting the Information They Need?

EE Noon is a regular series of brown-bag lunch seminars in which industry leaders share their expertise about energy efficiency. The seminars feature short presentations followed by a question and answer session.

Are Policy Makers Getting the Information They Need?

Billions of dollars are being spent in the name of a myriad of energy efficiency policies. The EE industry has tools for evaluating the actual results of policies, programs and individual energy users' EE projects. Lots of money is being spent to provide policy makers or investors with the feedback they need but evaluated results can be difficult for policy makers to interpret. Policy makers like simple objectives and seek simple measurement of results, such as they may get from a new power plant or an emission reduction from large smokestacks. The trade off between cost and accuracy of savings reports is foreign to most senior persons who create policies. So how are they to establish appropriate measurements or statements of objective?

This presentation will summarize the tools used for documenting actual energy savings, and assessing the accuracy of measuring unused energy. It will discuss the advocacy that EVO currently undertakes on behalf of good savings reporting, and ask the key question: “What preparation do we owe policy makers, so they can set measurable objectives that enable EE to be treated on an equal footing with new energy development policies?”

Presenters

John Cowan, Chair, Efficiency Valuation Organization

John Cowan is President of Environmental Interface Limited, a specialist energy and environmental management consulting firm in Toronto, Canada. During his 37 year career John has been an:

• ESCO owner/manager,
• consulting engineer in energy efficiency,
• adviser to energy users entering ESCO contracts,
• consultant for utility DSM programs, governments and international development agencies,
• independent energy savings verifier,
• author or verifier of emission credit claims, and
• energy engineer for industrial and large commercial energy users.

John now provides independent consulting around the world on the management of large energy efficiency programs.

John specializes in the verification of energy saving claims. He has acted as expert witness in the field, and is active on committees responsible for publishing industry standards for verifying energy savings. He teaches a related course and serves on a board certifying other professionals in savings “measurement and verification.” He currently chairs the Board of Efficiency Valuation Organization, the NGO responsible for the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP). John is a registered professional engineer in Ontario with an MBA.

Stephen Kromer, Past Chair, Treasurer, Efficiency Valuation Organization

Steve Kromer is an energy efficiency consultant, focusing on energy measurement (M&V), energy information and risk management. A graduate of Virginia Tech in Mechanical Engineering (1983), Mr. Kromer more recently worked as a senior engineer at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and as a director at Enron Energy Services. Mr. Kromer has provided energy efficiency verification and valuation services around the globe. A short list of recent clients include, California Public Utilities Commission (Energy Division), NRDC (US China Energy Alliance), EnerNOC, Pacific Gas and Electric, ITRON, U.S. Army, Taiwan Green Productivity Foundation, GTZ and the Energy Foundation.

Mr. Kromer is the Immediate Past Chairman and current board member and treasurer of the Efficiency Valuation Organization (EVO). He is on the International Training Committee of the Association of Energy Engineers and is a founding member and current Chairman of the CMVP. (Certified M&V Professional). Mr. Kromer serves on the editorial board of the Energy Efficiency Journal. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of California.