Cost-Effectiveness Metrics Working Group

CEA’s Cost-Effectiveness Metrics (CEM) Working Group supports the development of modern, comprehensive, and fully vetted definition of cost-effectiveness, as well as the metrics and methodologies for use by California agencies tasked with energy analysis, code development, and similar regulatory responsibilities.

Streamlining and improving the current methodology used by California regulators requires establishing mandatory cost components for consideration when calculating energy costs and savings and to measure cost-effectiveness. These Components include peak demand adders and costs for average retail electricity; transmission and generation; safety; fire suppression; cybersecurity; health impacts; carbon and environmental factors: energy and economic equity.

Led by Dan Salinas, Salinas Lighting Consult

At present, the CEM Working Group has two main foundational objectives:

  • “What is CEM?” A series of videos designed to:

    • Provide a comprehensive definition of Cost-Effectiveness Metrics including an historical context

    • Offer a global view of the topic including a full range of stakeholders both in terms of geography - not exclusive to California - and their relationship to the topic (from agencies to end-users and ‘everyone’ in between

    • Outline main issues/problems/opportunities in current Cost-Effectiveness Metrics and Methodologies

  • CEM Stakeholder Engagement:

    • Map full range of stakeholders

    • Cultivate wide stakeholder involvement with CEA

    • Identify stakeholder priorities

    • Articulate distinct stakeholder perspectives

Two CEM task teams are focused more specifically: 

CEM Policy Task Team

Led by Bernie Kotlier, California Labor Management Cooperation Committee (CAL LMCC)

The CEM Policy Task Team aims to leverage CEA’s position and reputation to influence key state legislators in preparation for the 2021 legislative session to modify and improve the operational definition of cost-effectiveness and bring it into alignment with other state policy priorities.

Recognizing a short term opportunity for progress toward  CEA’s overarching CEM objectives, these efforts focus on benefits that are more directly energy-related; are in conflict or do not align with state policy; and are not currently included or fully accounted for in the definition of cost effectiveness; such as:

  • GHG reduction / decarbonization / methane reduction 

  • Grid resilience, management, and reliability 

  • Energy equity 

  • Security and safety of electrical systems

CEM Research Task Team

Led by Peter Schwartz, Independent Consultant

There is an opportunity to leverage previous California Energy Commission (Energy Commission), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Investor Owned Utilities (IOU) ratepayer-funded work that were separately executed, under a single comprehensive research umbrella. The CEM Research Task Team is exploring opportunities to collect defensible data in support of a modern cost-effectiveness framework. Once the fundamental education, outreach and stakeholder engagement to develop a comprehensive definition of CEM has been completed by the Working Group, the CEM Research Task Team will begin to craft a full research framework including: 

Phase I:

  • Identify and prioritize use cases development

  • Identify non-energy benefits (NEBs)

  • Develop CEM structure and methodology including energy and NEBs 

demonstrating end-to-end benefits 

Phase II:

  • Collect and analyze prioritized use cases’ data

  • Produce updated code language and propose legislation

Working Group Members:

  • Gregg Ander, Gregg.D Ander LLCC 

  • Doug Avery, CEA Co-Chair & California Advanced Lighting Controls Training Program (CALCTP)

  • Nancy Clanton, Visibility Innovations

  • Josh Dean, CEA Executive Director  

  • Pekka Hakkarainen, Lutron

  • Michael Jouaneh, Lutron 

  • Bernie Kotlier, California Labor Management Cooperation Committee (CAL LMCC)

  • Charles Knuffke, WattStopper/Legrand

  • Dan Salinas, Salinas Lighting Consult

  • Peter Schwartz, Independent Consultant

  • Robert Soler, Bios Lighting 

  • Martin Vu, RMS Energy Engineering

  • Randy Young, The Joint Committee on Energy and Environmental Policy (JCEEP)

READ MORE: CEA’S COST-EFFECTIVENESS METRICS INITIATIVE

Josh Dean