201404012013 WAQC Report.pdf

2013
Weatherization Assistance
for Qualified Customers
April 1, 2014
2013 Annual Report
Idaho Power Company Weatherization Assistance for Qualified Customers
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. i
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... i
Description .......................................................................................................................................1
Background ......................................................................................................................................1
Review of Weatherized Homes and Non-Profit Buildings by County ............................................3
Review of Measures Installed ..........................................................................................................7
Overall Cost-Effectiveness ..............................................................................................................9
Customer Education and Satisfaction ............................................................................................12
Plans for 2014 ................................................................................................................................13

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 2013 WAQC weatherization activities and Idaho Power expenditures by agency
and county .....................................................................................................................................4
Table 2 2013 WAQC base and available funds .........................................................................................6
Table 3 2013 WAQC review of measures installed ...................................................................................8
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Idaho Power Company Weatherization Assistance for Qualified Customers
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DESCRIPTION
The Weatherization Assistance for Qualified Customers (WAQC) program provides financial
assistance to regional Community Action Partnership (CAP) agencies in Idaho Power’s service
area. This assistance helps fund weatherization costs of electrically heated homes occupied by
qualified customers who have limited incomes. The WAQC program also provides a limited pool
of funds for the weatherization of buildings occupied by non-profit organizations serving
primarily special-needs populations, regardless of heating source, with priority given to
buildings with electric heat. Weatherization improvements enable residents to maintain a more
comfortable, safe, and energy-efficient home while reducing their monthly electricity
consumption. Improvements are available at no cost to qualified customers who own or rent their
homes. These customers also receive educational materials and efficiency ideas on using energy
wisely in their homes. Local CAP agencies determine program eligibility according to federal
and state guidelines.
BACKGROUND
In 1989, Idaho Power began offering weatherization assistance in conjunction with the State of
Idaho Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). Through the WAQC program, Idaho Power
provides supplementary funding to state-designated CAP agencies for the weatherization of
electrically heated homes occupied by qualified customers and buildings occupied by non-profit
organizations that serve special-needs populations. This allows CAP agencies to leverage their
federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) weatherization funds and
serve more people with special needs.
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Idaho Power has an agreement with each CAP agency for the WAQC program.
The agreement specifies the funding allotment, billing requirements, and program guidelines.
Currently, Idaho Power oversees the program in Idaho through five regional CAP agencies.
The five regional CAP agencies include CCOA—Aging, Weatherization and Human Services
(CCOA), Eastern Idaho Community Action Partnership (EICAP), El Ada Community Action
Partnership (El Ada), South Central Community Action Partnership (SCCAP), and Southeastern
Idaho Community Action Agency (SEICAA). In Oregon, Community Connection of Northeast
Oregon, Inc. (CCNO) and Community in Action (CINA) provide weatherization services for
qualified customers in Idaho Power’s service area.
Idaho Power provides this Weatherization Assistance for Qualified Customers 2013 Annual
Report in compliance with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission’s (IPUC) Order No. 29505.
This report includes the following topics:
• Review of weatherized homes and non-profit buildings by county
• Review of measures installed
• Overall cost-effectiveness
• Customer education and satisfaction
• Plans for 2014
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REVIEW OF WEATHERIZED HOMES AND NON-PROFIT
BUILDINGS BY COUNTY
The 2013 total utility cost (UC) for the WAQC program was $1,391,677. In 2013, Idaho Power
provided a total of $1,300,168 to Idaho CAP agencies. Of the funds provided, $1,210,093 were
dispersed to those CAP agencies in 2013, while $90,075 were accrued for future funding.
Of the funds dispersed in 2013, $1,060,549 directly funded audits, energy efficiency measures,
and health and safety measures for qualified customers’ homes (production costs) in Idaho,
and $106,055 in administration costs were dispersed to Idaho CAP agencies for those homes
weatherized. Idaho Power funding provided for the weatherization of 243 Idaho homes and
2 Idaho non-profit buildings in 2013. The cost of those non-profit building weatherization
measures was $39,535, while $3,954 in administrative costs were dispersed for the Idaho
non-profit building weatherization jobs. In Oregon, Idaho Power dispersed $33,146 in
production costs for 8 qualified homes and $3,315 in CAP agency administrative costs for homes
in Malheur County. Due to the small amount of Idaho Power customers in Baker County,
the CCNO was unable to weatherize a home this year. One building housing a non-profit agency
serving special-needs customers was weatherized in Oregon during 2013, with $10,860 in
production costs and $1,086 in administration fees for a total of $11,946 from the Oregon
non-profit fund. Table 1 shows the CAP agency, number of homes weatherized, production
costs, average cost per home, administration payments, and total payments per county made by
Idaho Power.
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Table 1 2013 WAQC weatherization activities and Idaho Power expenditures by agency and county
Agency County
Number of Homes Production Cost Average Cost1
Administration Payment to Agency Total Payment
Idaho
CCOA Adams 2 $ 12,574 $ 6,287 $ 1,257 $ 13,831
Boise 3 17,880 5,960 1,788 19,668
Canyon 34 187,060 5,502 18,706 205,766
Gem 1 5,694 5,694 569 6,263
Payette 6 35,923 5,987 3,592 39,515
Valley 2 13,699 6,850 1,370 15,069
Washington 4 21,001 5,250 2,100 23,101
Agency Total 52 $ 293,829 $ 5,651 $ 29,383 $ 323,212
EICAP Lemhi 4 11,625 2,906 1,163 12,788
Agency Total 4 $ 11,625 $ 2,906 $ 1,163 $ 12,788
El Ada Ada 91 442,628 4,864 44,263 486,891
Elmore 7 41,823 5,975 4,182 46,006
Owyhee 6 32,348 5,391 3,235 35,582
Agency Total 104 $ 516,799 $ 4,969 $ 51,680 $ 568,479
SCCAP
Cassia 1 1,714 1,714 171 1,886
Gooding 7 30,784 4,398 3,078 33,862
Jerome 6 23,986 3,998 2,399 26,385
Lincoln 2 4,905 2,453 491 5,396
Minidoka 2 5,499 2,749 550 6,049
Twin Falls 31 85,298 2,752 8,530 93,828
Agency Total 49 $ 152,186 $ 3,106 $ 15,219 $ 167,405
SEICAA Bannock 18 41,505 2,306 4,150 45,655
Bingham 15 41,978 2,799 4,198 46,176
Power 1 2,626 2,626 263 2,889
Agency Total 34 $ 86,109 $ 2,533 $ 8,611 $ 94,720
Total Idaho Homes 243 $ 1,060,549 $ 4,364 $ 106,055 $ 1,166,604
Idaho Non-Profit
Buildings
Lemhi 1 11,374 11,374 1,137 12,512
Adams 1 28,161 28,161 2,816 30,977
Total Idaho Non-Profit Buildings 2 $ 39,535 $ 19,768 $ 3,954 $ 43,489
Total Idaho 245 $ 1,100,085 $ 110,008 $ 1,210,093

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Table 1 (continued)
Agency County
Number of
Homes Production Cost Average Cost1
Administration Payment to
Agency Total Payment
Oregon
CCNO Baker 0 0 0 0 0
Agency Total 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0
CINA Malheur 8 33,146 4,143 3,315 36,460
Agency Total 8 $ 33,146 $ 4,143 $ 3,315 $ 36,460
Total Oregon Homes 8 $ 33,146 $ 4,143 $ 3,315 $ 36,460
Oregon Non-Profit Buildings Malheur 1 10,860 10,860 1,086 11,946
Total Oregon 9 $ 44,006 $ 4,401 $ 48,406
Total Program 254 $ 1,144,090 $ 4,504 $ 114,409 $ 1,258,499
Note: Dollars are rounded.
1 Agency average cost total is equal to the production cost divided by the number of jobs.
The base funding for Idaho and Oregon CAP agencies is $1,257,534 annually, which does not
include any carryover from the previous year. Idaho Power’s agreements with CAP agencies
include the provision allowing a maximum annual average cost per home up to a dollar amount
specified in the agreement between the CAP agency and Idaho Power. The intent of the
maximum annual average cost is to allow CAP agency flexibility to service some homes with
greater or fewer weatherization needs. It also provides a monitoring tool for Idaho Power to
forecast year-end outcomes. The average cost per home served is calculated by dividing the total
annual Idaho Power production cost of homes weatherized per CAP agency by the total number
of homes weatherized that the CAP agency billed to Idaho Power during the year. The maximum
annual average cost per home the CAP agency was allowed under the 2013 agreement was
$6,000. In 2013, Idaho CAP agencies had a combined average cost per home served of $4,364.
Oregon CAP agencies averaged $4,143 per home. There is no maximum annual average cost for
the weatherization of buildings occupied by non-profit agencies.
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CAP agency administration fees are equal to 10 percent of Idaho Power’s per-job production
costs. The average administration cost paid to agencies per Idaho home weatherized in 2013 was
$436, and the average administration cost paid to Oregon agencies per Oregon home weatherized
during the same period was $414. Not included in this report’s tables are additional Idaho Power
staff labor, marketing, evaluation, home verification, and support costs for the WAQC program
totaling $130,737 for 2013. These expenses were in addition to the WAQC program funding
requirements in Idaho specified in IPUC Order No. 29505.
In compliance with IPUC Order No. 29505, WAQC program funds are tracked separately,
with unspent funds carried over and made available to CAP agencies in the following year.
In 2013, $87,634 in unspent funds from 2012 were made available for expenditures in Idaho.
In Oregon, $16,000 were made available in Oregon’s non-profit fund. Table 2 details the funding
base and available funds from 2012 and the total amount of 2013 spending.
Table 2 2013 WAQC base and available funds
Agency 2013 Base Available Funds from 2012 Total 2013 Allotment 2013 Spending
Idaho
CCOA ............................................ $ 302,259 $ 20,953 $ 323,212 $ 323,212
EICAP ............................................ 12,788 0 12,788 12,788
El Ada ............................................ 568,479 0 568,479 568,479
SCCAP .......................................... 167,405 0 167,405 167,405
SEICAA ......................................... 111,603 21,328 132,931 94,720
Non-profit buildings ........................ 50,000 45,353 95,353 43,489
Idaho Total ................................... $ 1,212,534 $ 87,634 $ 1,300,168 $ 1,210,093
Oregon
CINA .............................................. 36,550 0 36,550 36,460
CCNO ............................................ 6,450 0 6,450 0
Non-profit buildings ........................ 2,000 14,000 16,000 11,946
Oregon Total ................................ $ 45,000 $ 14,000 $ 59,000 $ 48,406
Note: Dollars are rounded.
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REVIEW OF MEASURES INSTALLED
Table 3 details home counts for which Idaho Power paid a portion of the measure costs during
2013. The Home Counts column represents the number of times any percentage of that measure
was billed to Idaho Power during the year. If totaled, measure counts would be higher than
total homes weatherized because the number of measures installed in each home varies.
Consistent with the Idaho WAP, the WAQC program offers several measures that have costs but
do not necessarily save energy or for which the savings cannot be measured. Included in this
category are health and safety measures, vents, furnace repairs, other, and home energy audits.
Health and safety measures are necessary to ensure weatherization activities do not cause
unsafe situations in a customer’s home or compromise a home’s existing indoor air quality.
Other non-energy saving measures are allowed under this program because of their interaction
with the energy-saving measures. Examples of items included in the “other” measure category
include vapor barriers, dryer vent hoods, and roof cement. The EA5 energy audit program (EA5)
is a software program approved for use by the Department of Energy (DOE) and used by the
Idaho CAP agency weatherization managers. The EA5 includes material costs, labor costs for
installation, agency and contractor support costs, and estimated savings for individual measures.
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Table 3 2013 WAQC review of measures installed
Home Counts Production Costs
Idaho Homes and Non-Profit Measures
Windows ..................................................................................................... 118 $ 178,078
Doors .......................................................................................................... 131 78,053
Wall insulation ............................................................................................ 76 11,428
Ceiling insulation ........................................................................................ 116 95,001
Vents .......................................................................................................... 15 663
Floor insulation ........................................................................................... 101 88,145
Infiltration .................................................................................................... 154 35,333
Ducts .......................................................................................................... 67 26,621
Health & safety ........................................................................................... 37 9,447
Other .......................................................................................................... 31 6,878
Water heater ............................................................................................... 10 4,998
Pipes .......................................................................................................... 40 2,864
Furnace repair ............................................................................................ 48 9,703
Furnace replace .......................................................................................... 141 539,479
Compact fluorescent lamp/light (CFL) ....................................................... 86 2,471
Audit .......................................................................................................... 138 10,923
Total Idaho Homes and Non-Profit Measures ............................................................................ $ 1,100,085
Oregon Homes and Non-Profit Measures
Windows ..................................................................................................... 2 5,419
Doors .......................................................................................................... 1 280
Wall insulation ............................................................................................ 4 5,195
Ceiling insulation ........................................................................................ 8 6,790
Floor insulation ........................................................................................... 4 7,447
Infiltration .................................................................................................... 9 3,940
Ducts .......................................................................................................... 1 416
Health & safety ........................................................................................... 4 3,429
Pipes .......................................................................................................... 1 143
Furnace replace .......................................................................................... 3 10,780
Audit ........................................................................................................... 1 168
Total Oregon Homes and Non-Profit Measures......................................................................... $ 44,005
Note: Dollars are rounded.
Annually, Idaho Power physically verifies approximately 10 percent of the homes weatherized
under the WAQC program. This is done through two methods. The first method includes the
Idaho Power program specialist participating in Idaho’s and Oregon’s state peer-review process
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that reviews weatherized homes. The process involves utility representatives; weatherization
personnel from the CAP agencies; Community Action Partnership Association of Idaho, Inc.
(CAPAI); and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW) or Oregon Housing and
Community Services (OHCS) reviewing homes weatherized by each of the CAP agencies.
CAP agency weatherization departments weatherize homes in accordance with
federal guidelines.
The second method involves Idaho Power contracting with two companies—The Energy
Auditor, Inc., and Momentum, LLC—that employ certified building performance specialists to
verify installed measures in customer homes. Energy Auditor, Inc., verifies homes weatherized
for the WAQC program in Idaho Power’s eastern and southern Idaho regions. The owner of
Energy Auditor is certified by Performance Tested Comfort Systems and is an ENERGY STAR®
home performance specialist. Momentum verifies weatherization services provided through the
WAQC program in the Capital and Canyon regions of Idaho. The owner of Momentum is a
Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET®) certified home energy rater. After these
companies verify installed measures, any required follow-up is done by the CAP
agency personnel.
OVERALL COST-EFFECTIVENESS
Prior to 2012, the cost-effectiveness of the WAQC program was determined using the
energy-savings estimates from Idaho WAP EA4 energy audit tool (EA4). In 2012, the Idaho
WAP, and therefore the WAQC program, upgraded to the EA5. The EA5 is used for the WAQC
program in conjunction with the Idaho WAP for leveraging funds by weatherization managers
who are billing the state and Idaho Power for each home weatherization job. In the field,
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the weatherization auditor uses the EA5 to conduct the initial audit of potential energy savings
for a home. The EA5 compares the efficiency of measures prior to weatherization to the
efficiency after the proposed improvement. The output of the EA5 savings-to-investment ratio
(SIR) is similar to the participant cost test (PCT) ratio. If the EA5 computes an SIR of 1.0 or
higher, the CAP agency completes the proposed measures. In addition to the individual measure
SIR, the entire job is required to show an SIR of 1.0 or higher.
In 2012, Idaho Power contracted with D&R International, Ltd., to conduct an impact evaluation
of the WAQC program. The impact evaluation was completed and provided to Idaho Power in
February 2013. Results indicated significantly lower realized energy savings for the WAQC
program compared with initial EA4 savings estimates from 2011. For the 2013 program savings
estimate of 681,736 kilowatt-hours (kWh), Idaho Power again used D&R International’s average
annual energy savings estimate of 2,684 kWh per home that resulted from the billing analysis of
homes weatherized in 2011. Even though the WAQC program used the EA5 audit program
in 2013, Idaho Power believes the average annual savings per home estimate provided by
D&R International is applicable until another billing analysis is completed. The results of this
cost-effective analysis showed a total resource cost (TRC) ratio of 0.74 and a utility cost (UC)
ratio of 0.95. These ratios are up slightly from 2012, when the TRC ratio for the WAQC program
was 0.71 and the UC ratio was 0.84.
In 2013, Idaho Power administered a process evaluation of the WAQC program through the
third-party contractor Johnson Consulting Group. The contractor gathered data from a variety of
sources, including reviews of program materials, the program database, and in-depth interviews
with key staff and stakeholders from May through August 2013. In addition, Johnson Consulting
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Group conducted a literature review about low-income program non-energy benefits (NEB)
and cost-effectiveness policies used in other jurisdictions.
The recommendations from IPUC staff’s report and IPUC Order No. 32788 are used for
cost-effectiveness analysis for 2013. These recommendations include the following:
• Applying a 100-percent net-to-gross (NTG) value to reflect the likelihood that WAQC
weatherization projects would not be initiated without the presence of a program
• Claiming 100 percent of project savings
• Including an allocated portion of the indirect overhead costs
• Applying the 10-percent conservation preference adder
• Claiming one dollar of benefits for each dollar invested in health, safety,
and repair measures
• Amortizing evaluation expenses over a three-year period
A review of the WAQC program was discussed with Idaho Power’s Energy Efficiency Advisory
Group (EEAG) twice during 2013. On September 18, a review of WAQC impact and process
evaluations was discussed. On November 14, WAQC program improvement ideas were
presented to EEAG. The impact evaluation of the program showed the home energy audit tool
was overestimating energy savings. The process evaluation recommended using NEBs in
determining the cost-effectiveness.
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CUSTOMER EDUCATION AND SATISFACTION
Idaho Power provides materials to each CAP agency to help educate qualified customers who
receive weatherization assistance on using energy efficiently. Included in the materials are copies
of the Idaho Power booklet 30 Simple Things You Can Do to Save Energy and Energy Saving
Tips, which describes energy conservation tips for the heating and cooling seasons, and a
two-sided card that describes the energy-saving benefits of using CFLs and other helpful
information. Idaho Power actively informs customers about weatherization assistance through
energy and resource fairs and other customer contacts.
To stay current with new programs and services, the Idaho Power program specialist overseeing
the WAQC program attends state and federal energy assistance/weatherization meetings and
other weatherization-specific conferences, such as the National Energy and Utility Affordability
Conference. Idaho Power is also active in the Policy Advisory Council, helping advise and direct
Idaho’s state weatherization application to the DOE.
As described in the Review of Measures Installed section above, Idaho Power used independent,
third-party verification companies across its service area to randomly check approximately
10 percent of the weatherization jobs submitted for payment by the program. These home
verifiers ensure that the stated measures are installed in the homes of participating customers and
discuss the program with these customers. Home verifiers visited 40 homes, requesting feedback
about the program in 2013. When asked how much customers learned about saving electricity,
29 customers answered they learned “a lot” or “some.” When asked how many ways they tried
to save electricity, 28 customers responded “a lot” or “some.”
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PLANS FOR 2014
As in previous years, unless directed otherwise, Idaho Power will continue to provide
financial assistance to CAP agencies while exploring program changes to improve program
cost-effectiveness in 2014. Idaho Power will continue to apply recommendations from the
impact evaluation conducted by D&R International that was completed in early 2013.
Idaho Power will also apply recommendations from a third-party process evaluation of
the WAQC program completed by Johnson Consulting Group in October 2013.
Recommendations from this process evaluation were to begin the development of a new energy
audit tool and to create a new customer satisfaction survey to distribute to all CAP agencies.
This new survey will provide consistent feedback from all agencies to Idaho Power. Idaho Power
plans to include additional data entry points in an updated home audit tool for additional
information as well as update calculation inputs, such as heating degree days and lives of
individual measures. These updates may be accepted by the State of Idaho WAP to incorporate
into the current energy audit tool, EA5.
In Oregon, Idaho Power filed an updated tariff for the program that moved funds from the
non-profit pooled fund to funds used to weatherize homes. This funding shift started in 2014 and
allows additional funds to be spent on efficiency improvements in qualified customers’ homes
in Oregon.
Idaho Power will continue to participate in the Idaho and the Oregon state peer-review process
of weatherized homes and will continue to verify approximately 10 percent of the homes
weatherized under the WAQC program via certified home-verification companies.
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Idaho Power continues to wait for the final results of an evaluation from the Applied Public
Policy Research Institute for Study and Evaluation (APPRISE), which is conducting a
nationwide evaluation of low-income weatherization programs for the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory and the DOE. In 2012, Idaho Power participated in this study by providing
requested information to APPRISE.
Idaho Power will continue its involvement with the State of Idaho’s Policy Advisory Council
that serves as an oversight group for weatherization activities in Idaho as well as review state
grant applications for federal funding.
While Idaho Power incorporates evaluation results, it plans to selectively market the WAQC
program throughout 2014. The program is promoted at resource fairs, community special-needs
populations’ service-provider meetings, and CAP agency functions to reach customers who may
benefit from the program. Marketing for this program is conducted in cooperation with
weatherization managers.
Idaho Power will continue working in partnership with the IDHW, OHCS, CAPAI,
and individual CAP agency personnel to maintain the targets and guidelines and improve the
cost-effectiveness of the WAQC program.
In 2014, Idaho Power will support the whole-house philosophy of the WAQC program and the
Idaho and Oregon WAP by contracting a $6,000 annual maximum average per-home cost.
Based on the required funding, Idaho Power estimates 180 homes and 6 non-profit buildings will
be weatherized in Idaho in 2014. In Oregon, an estimated 8 homes will be weatherized.
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In Idaho during 2014, Idaho Power expects to fund the base amount plus available funds from
2013 to total $1,302,609 in weatherization measures and agency administration fees. Of this
amount, $101,864 will be provided to the non-profit pooled fund to weatherize buildings housing
non-profit agencies that primarily serve qualified customers in Idaho.
Through the WAQC program, Oregon CAP agencies have a 2014 budgetary amount of $55,594
to manage weatherization services for Idaho Power customers. Service-area wide, Idaho Power
will provide the WAQC program $1,358,203 in funding in 2014 for the weatherization of homes
and buildings of non-profit agencies serving qualified customers.
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