ICAST was recently invited to present at the E Source 2024 Forum in early October. E Source is a utilities-focused research and consultation firm that annually holds the E Source Forum to bring together utility professionals to learn, innovate, and grow the utility industry.
Our presentation, titled “Equitable Access to the Benefits of DSM,” was delivered by Ryan Kristoff, ICAST’s vice president of grant programs. Mr. Kristoff presented on ICAST’s demand-side management program for PEPCO, a DC-based utility. This program, which launched in 2020 and ran until 2023, delivered deep retrofits for multifamily affordable housing (MFAH) properties that were designed to maximize energy savings and other benefits. The program had high incentives to offset the cost differential for more expensive, very-high-efficiency technology. These incentives, coordinated with other energy efficiency measures (such as weatherization), led to utility bill reductions for both residents and property owners and little-to-no upfront costs for property owners.
The program utilized ICAST’s signature one-stop-shop approach and went beyond the mere installation of new energy-efficient equipment: It included free energy assessments, design and engineering, construction management, financing access, workforce training, tenant education, water conservation, and efficiency improvements, weatherization measures like insulation, and rebate securement.
The program distributed about $9 million in rebates, saved over $18 million in lifetime utility costs, and served over 3,000 households. The program was instrumental in preparing DC’s multifamily affordable housing to comply with the District’s new building energy performance standards, which will be phased in over the next several years and aim to cut energy use by 50% by 2032 and make the District carbon neutral by 2050. Equity was a core philosophy of the program: By solely servicing MFAH properties where a majority of households earned less than 80% of the area median income or properties that charged less than 80% of average market rent, we enabled the households most in need of utility bill savings and energy efficiency to access these upgrades, freeing up more of their income for other necessities.
As a leading demand-side management (DSM) program architect and thought leader, ICAST aimed to share lessons learned and best practices from running this DSM program, allowing others to replicate its success elsewhere in the country. Mr. Kristoff’s presentation stressed collaboration across partners to achieve equity targets in utility programs, particularly leveraging funds from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Mr. Kristoff identified “continuous improvement” as a golden standard, stating that capturing new opportunities for equitable DSM programs via policy and regulations is vital to remaining agile and flexible when servicing MFAH, which often does not fit into the mold of traditional DSM programs.