Community Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Program: NYSEG and RG&E

NYSEG and RG&E are interested in developing and deploying a holistic Community Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Program. This program may leverage NYSEG’s foundational Ithaca and Tompkins County Energy Smart Community investments, community engagement, and programs. Other communities will also be considered.

• Identify how community branding and engagement can increase the uptake of energy efficiency measures and behavior modification.
• Identify if a community-centered approach to measure deployment can drive down prices for consumers.
• Identify how community centered deployment of smart thermostats and controls can be leveraged for regional response to demand response events.

Target customers include single-family and multi-family residential customers, property owners and small commercial customers. There is particular interest in developing targeted programs for low and moderate income (LMI) customers.

• The partnering organization should be able to develop, manage and deliver a holistic community-based energy efficiency and demand response program.
• Proposals should recommend measures and behavior-based programs to be deployed.
• Proposals should recommend community engagement, branding, and communications techniques and approaches.
• Potential partners should propose unique approaches for compensation including performance-based compensation.

Proposed solutions should provide support for recruitment, ongoing engagement, and performance evaluation.

Community-Wide Measure Recruitment

• Identify specific measures to be promoted to the entire community.
• Create focused campaigns to market measures at the community level and promoted as a community effort.
• Create community-wide enthusiasm and support through traditional and non-traditional (guerilla) marketing tactics.
• Track uptake of measures and communicate progress through social media, emails, etc.
• Measures may include: weatherization, heat pumps, lighting retro-fits, smart thermostats, smart controls, electrification of heating, and other measures.
• Conduct RFP for community wide deployment of specific measures (could drive price down).

Behavioral Element

• Set community-wide goals for energy reduction, demand reduction, and CO2 reduction.
• Aggregate progress for community-wide support.
• Track individual household consumption reductions.
• Track individual commercial building consumption reductions.
• Communicate frequently through social media, radio, and email on community progress toward goals.

Analytical Element

• Develop methodology to baseline use and measure aggregated community progress (energy, demand, and CO2).
• Develop methodology to leverage AMI data and building data to identify and rank opportunities (ex – heat loss and building efficiency mapping).
• Identify behavioral and scientific studies for collaboration with Cornell University.

If this model proves to be successful in a pilot community, we will consider adding additional measures and replicating the model in other communities.

REV objectives for this partnership include:

• Enable new energy markets and leverage ratepayer contributions
• Enhance customer knowledge and capabilities
• Improve system-wide efficiency
• Reduce carbon emissions

Submissions that do not take a holistic, community-wide deployment approach will not be considered.