HOME ENERGY USAGE REPORTS: DOES INCREASED FEEDBACK
LEAD TO SIGNIFICANT ENERGY REDUCTIONS AND REDUCED
COSTS?
NASUCA MID YEAR MEETING
JUNE 25, 2012
Ricky Gratz, Assistant People’s Counsel
Maryland Office of People’s Counsel
6 St. Paul Street, Suite 2102
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-767-8150
www.opc.state.md.us
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OPOWER
• OPOWER is an energy efficiency and smart grid software
company that partners with utilities
• OPOWER sends Home Energy Usage Reports that
compares customers energy usage with their “neighbors”
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BGE’s OPOWER Pilot
 On May 21, 2010, the Baltimore Gas and Electric
Company (BGE) filed with the Maryland Public
Service Commission a request for approval of a
Pilot Program featuring an innovative direct mail
campaign (BGE Home Energy Report) designed
to:
 Better inform participants about their existing energy consumption
 Encourage customers to use less energy
 Increase participation in the energy efficiency components of
BGE's Smart Energy Savers Program®
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BGE’s OPOWER Pilot
 BGE tested a targeted direct mailing to 25,000 BGE residential
customers using energy reports based on a program developed by
OPOWER
 BGE sent seven test mailings every other month from October 2010
to September 2011 to 25,000 customers
 The pilot customers were randomly drawn from BGE’s entire
residential customer base and included both electric only and gas and
electric customers
 To fully test the campaign’s effectiveness, a control group of 25,000
customers was also selected
 These customers did not receive the direct mailings
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BGE’s OPOWER Pilot - Sample direct
mail letter
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BGE’s OPOWER Pilot – Results
• Cost: $323,000
• Total Home Energy Report pilot participants saved about
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1.2% on average when compared to the non-participants or
control group
Limited income customers saved a cumulative 1.9%,
which was more than non-limited income customers
Total savings – 3,478 MWH
Total cost per kWh – $0.09
Pilot TRC – 1.08 (does not include incremental savings
from additional participants)
Users reported taking over 500 tip actions
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Cost-effectiveness
• Recommendation: Apply the same cost-effectiveness
standard to a Home Energy Usage Report Program as
you would any other EE Program
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Cost Recovery
• Recommendation: Apply the same standard to a Home
Energy Usage Report Program as you would any other
EE Program
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Opt-in vs. Opt-out
• Recommendation: It is reasonable to allow the default
option for Home Energy Usage Report Programs to be
Opt-out
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Increasing Participation in Utility
Energy Efficiency (EE) Programs
• Recommendation: Consider adding a cost-effective Home
Energy Usage Report Programs to a portfolio of utility EE
programs to increase participation
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EE Programs vs. Advanced Meter
Infrastructure (AMI) Programs
• Home Energy Usage Report Programs are feasible
without any AMI data
• Some Home Energy Usage Report Programs provide
additional information based upon AMI data
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New Developments
• Green Button
• Apps for Energy
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THANK YOU!