20191021Attachment 2.PDF

STRATEGIC & BUSINESS PLANS2020-2024
On behalf of its Board of Directors, staff and stakeholders across the region, the
Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) is pleased to present its 2020-2024
Strategic and Business Plans.

NEEA’s Board has unanimously approved these plans after a two-year collaborative
outreach process, establishing the alliance’s primary purpose: To pool resources and
share risks to transform the market for energy efficiency to the benefit of consumers
in the Northwest.
Working together, the alliance drives market adoption of energy-efficient electric
and natural gas products, services and practices throughout the states of Idaho,
Montana, Oregon and Washington. Since 1996, the alliance has cost-effectively
realized more than 1,400 average Megawatts (aMW) of energy savings through
market transformation.
For most of its existence, the alliance has focused on driving market adoption of
energy-efficient products, services and practices powered by electric use. However,
in 2014 the alliance began investing in natural gas market transformation energy
efficiency initiatives. The alliance is building on these successful initial efforts
by creating its first dual-fuel integrated business plan, incorporating both electric
and natural gas market transformation efforts.
The Plan expands the metrics for measuring alliance success and builds on regional
research efforts such as the groundbreaking End Use Load Research study, which
will inform future, data-driven energy efficiency planning in the region. And,
by providing flexibility in how the alliance transforms markets to realize the full
benefits of energy efficiency as the Northwest’s least-cost resource, the Plan paves
the way for sustained market change moving forward.
Susan E. Stratton
Executive Director
Andrew Grassell
Board Chair
Chelan County PUD
Manager, Energy Development
and Conservation
Looking Forward
2020-2024 | NEEA Strategic and Business Plan | 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
2020-2024 Strategic Plan.................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Boundary Conditions ......................................................................................................................................................................... 8
2020-2024 Business Plan................................................................................................................................................................ 18
Executive Summary .....................................................................................................................................................................20
NEEA’s Approach to Market Transformation .................................................................................................................................. 26
Electric Portfolio ........................................................................................................................................................................30
Natural Gas Portfolio ...................................................................................................................................................................56
Operations Efficiency ..................................................................................................................................................................70
Value Metrics: Market Progress & Energy Savings ........................................................................................................................76
Operations & Budget ...................................................................................................................................................................84
Business Opportunities Beyond the Plan: Special Projects ............................................................................................................92
Appendices ................................................................................................................................................................................96
1. Electric Programs: Product Groups ...............................................................................................................................................98
2. Natural Gas Programs ...............................................................................................................................................................112
3. Alliance Marketing ....................................................................................................................................................................118
4. NEEA Branding Plan .................................................................................................................................................................121
5. Enabling Infrastructure .............................................................................................................................................................125
6. Energy Savings, Avoided Carbon Emissions & Peak Capacity Savings .............................................................................................132
7. Product Taxonomy ....................................................................................................................................................................138
8. Product Readiness ....................................................................................................................................................................139
9. Guiding Principles for Downstream Marketing Execution Activities ................................................................................................141
Key Terms ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 144
2020-2024 | NEEA Strategic Plan | 3
STRATEGIC PLAN 2020-2024
2020-2024 | NEEA Strategic Plan | 4
Introduction
More than 20 years ago, utilities¹ and energy efficiency
stakeholders from Idaho, Montana, Oregon and
Washington came together to address the challenges
of a changing utility environment. They established
the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) to
share the costs and benefits of coordinating efforts to
transform markets for efficiency. Today, the alliance
represents more than 140 Northwest utilities and energy
efficiency organizations working on behalf of more than
13 million energy consumers.
These alliance supporters fund the activities and
programs of NEEA, which is a fuel-neutral organization
dedicated to accelerating both electric and natural gas
energy efficiency in the region. Alliance activities are
directed by the Board of Directors and delegated to and
implemented by NEEA staff. While NEEA is an entity of
regional funders, it is a separate and unique organization
established to realize the benefits of energy efficiency
that individual funders are not able to as easily or as
efficiently achieve on their own. Some of the benefits of
this long-term value-creating relationship include: access
to knowledge, new ideas and expertise; improved market
power; and, shared expenses and risk.
1
Through collaboration and pooling of resources, the
region’s utilities and stakeholders have harnessed
their collective influence to drive market adoption of
efficient products, services and practices for the
benefit of utilities, consumers and the alliance. As
a result, since 1996, the region has cost-effectively
delivered more than 1,720 average Megawatts (aMW)
of efficiency through market transformation - enough
energy to power more than 1.2 million Northwest
homes each year.
In addition, Northwest energy consumers have benefited
from lower utility bills than otherwise might have been
and from products, services and practices that have
bettered lives in many ways, including improving the:
• value and comfort of homes;
• number of family wage jobs; and,
• profitability and competitiveness of businesses.
Ultimately, this commitment to energy efficiency as a
preferred resource and the region’s focus on long-term
collaborative action through NEEA has contributed to an
economically vibrant and more sustainable Northwest.

Situational Overview
Through the Strategic Planning process in 2017-2018,
NEEA’s Board of Directors worked together to identify
i) major trends shaping the future of efficiency in the
Northwest; and ii) funder needs relative to the key
strengths and potential roles of NEEA. These macro
trends and organizational merits form the foundation of
this Strategic Plan.
MACRO TRENDS
1. In some Northwest markets, loads are flat to
declining and commodity costs are relatively low and
stable. Such circumstances make it more difficult to
justify efficiency investments under required cost-
effectiveness tests. Yet, opportunities for significantly
more cost-effective efficiency have been identified in
the integrated resource plans of Northwest utilities
as well as the 7th Plan of the Northwest Power and
Conservation Council (Council).
STRATEGIC PLAN 2020-2024
1Utilities are defined as the region’s utilities as well as the
Bonneville Power Administration and the Energy Trust of Oregon.
2020-2024 | NEEA Strategic Plan | 5
2. For many utilities, managing demand peaks to relieve
capacity limits – not just to reduce usage – has
become a priority. The need for operating flexibility is
intensifying, particularly with the significant addition
of intermittent generating resources. The Council’s
analysis for its 7th Plan shows that efficiency and
demand response can contribute significant capacity
value.
3. While the commodity cost of energy has trended
down, other costs (e.g., capital replacement and
operating expenses) have been on the rise. The net
effect is upward pressure on rates – a trend generally
opposed by most consumers and their advocates.
4. At the same time, consumer and supply chain interest
in efficiency is keen, as is utility interest in supporting
their customers. Because efficiency expenditures
reduce bills, access to utility efficiency programs is
popular with consumers
and their advocates.
5. Dynamics related to the availability of transmission
and generation capacity as well as the energy policies
and practices of interconnected states (especially
California) are also influencing long-term market
and localized needs for efficiency. The changing
mix of generation (e.g. more solar and wind), newly
announced retirements of major generating resources
and shifts in patterns of consumer energy use are
among the influencing factors.
6. Uncertainty remains regarding future local, state
and/or federal legislation regarding climate change,
carbon regulation and greenhouse gas (GHG)
reduction. West Coast states and local governments
are embracing policies to decrease carbon emissions
for utilities and other sectors, notably transportation.
In addition, carbon reduction is increasingly a driving
factor for international supply chains for products and
services.
7. The pace of change in technology, on both the
customer and utility side of the meter, is increasing.
On the customer side, increased use of new devices
can increase energy intensity for end-uses that were
thought to have been “conquered” for efficiency.
On the utility side of the meter, an increasing amount
of renewable electric generation on the grid poses
new challenges to how generation and capacity
demand are balanced to reliably and cost-effectively
meet load.
In sum, new technologies, policies and incentives are
changing the balance of where and how energy demand
and generation occurs. In turn, the locational value of
efficiency is affected and resource planning for timely,
sufficient and cost-effective resources becomes more
challenging. In response to these trends, NEEA is
sharpening its focus to assure its market transformation
endeavors continue to deliver meaningful, cost-effective
support of regional energy needs.
MACRO TRENDS (CONTINUED)
2020-2024 | NEEA Strategic Plan | 6
has evolved in support. But interests sometime vary
significantly and can be costly to resolve.
For example:
• The cost-effectiveness of market transformation
initiatives is an over-arching expectation.
However, the time horizon of interest and
methods of evaluation differ among NEEA’s
stakeholders. Some focus on near-term
energy savings; others want options for new
efficiency measures to be at-the-ready for
later implementation. Most are interested in
transforming the long-term market – something
none can as easily or as efficiently do alone.
• Regulatory treatment of efficiency investment
varies across jurisdictions. For example, under
Washington law, efficiency required of utilities
hinges in part on the Northwest Power and
Conservation Council’s Power Plan. Other
states have no such tie. As another example,
NEEA’s investments in infrastructure, training,
manufacturer relationships, market analysis and
the like enable but don’t directly yield energy
savings on which the prudence of utilities’
spending is determined. Also, how efficiency
benefits achieved are allocated among
funders also varies. Some jurisdictions allow
apportionment based on percentage of funding;
others demand evidence of specific results by
measure or locale.
In sum, NEEA represents a unique mix of competencies
and capabilities that has proven to move markets for
efficiency. Continuing to leverage this asset in the face
of new market dynamics requires that NEEA’s Board be
specific and clear about the organization’s purpose and
role. Standard metrics of success are also crucial for
optimal alignment of efforts for all concerned.
ORGANIZATIONAL TRENDS
1. NEEA enjoys a trusted, regional and national
reputation for its expertise in transforming efficiency
markets. Capable and committed board and staff
coupled with processes for gathering market
intelligence, discerning points of intervention, and
coordinating interests across the region are notable.
2. Outcomes from NEEA’s efforts yield insights that
can be applied in complementary ways. This self-
reinforcing cycle informs and strengthens other
initiatives such as work on codes, standards, market
evaluation, transformation methods, and the like.
3. Because of the funders’ and stakeholders shared
commitment, NEEA can show long-term support and
the critical mass needed to influence other market
actors. NEEA has also developed proven methods
for moving technologies through the diffusion
of innovation curve faster than would otherwise
happen – and beyond what any organization could do
individually as easily or efficiently.
4. As an alliance, the NEEA Board and staff must
balance multiple funder perspectives as well as the
diverse expectations of other stakeholders. To this
end, a complex system of checks-and-balances
Strategic Direction
The NEEA Board has applied this increased clarity
to refine NEEA’s Strategic Direction – that is, the
collection of NEEA’s purpose, values and principles,
priorities and strategies.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
As part of its commitment to the region, NEEA operates
under a set of organizational values and principles of
conduct that apply to how the NEEA Board and staff
collaborate to meet business goals, while maintaining
2 Utilities are defined as the region’s utilities as well as the
Bonneville Power Administration and the Energy Trust of Oregon.
PURPOSE
NEEA is an alliance of utilities2 that pools
resources and shares risks to transform the
market for energy efficiency to the benefit of
consumers in the Northwest.
2020-2024 | NEEA Strategic Plan | 7
PRIMARY STRATEGIES
The following areas of strategic emphasis (not in
rank order) rely upon NEEA’s established assets and
competencies (e.g., market transformation and product
life cycle expertise, market analytics, funder engagement
and relationships with trade allies and manufacturers).
All are inter-dependent and self-reinforcing. The results
from work on any one strategy informs and supports
others.
1. Codes & Standards – Influence development and
support successful implementation of building
codes and equipment efficiency standards
and test methods to materially improve efficiency
outcomes.
OVERARCHING PRIORITIES
Two overarching goals are proposed for the 2020-2024
planning cycle. The first focuses on transformation
and inter-related support functions. The other sets
expectations for continuous improvement in operations.
Transformation Goal – Sustain a portfolio of initiatives
and support functions that enable more cost-effective
efficiency to occur sooner, in larger amounts and/or at
lower cost than otherwise expected.
Operations Goal – Continuously improve organizational
culture and performance efficacy, ensure accountability
and transparency and strive for innovation in service to
the benefit of all stakeholders.
2. Emerging Technologies Identification and
Assessment – Routinely scan for, assess, and
report on the potential for newly identified
efficiency products, services, and practices
and test the field performance of the most
promising opportunities.
3. Market Intelligence – Research, analyze, and provide
actionable insight to support identification and pursuit
of efficiency opportunities and results reporting.
4. Convene and Collaborate – Selectively support
dialogue and coordinate activities among
stakeholders interested in accelerating efficiency
through market transformation in the Northwest.
5. Prioritization Standards – Establish Board-determined
policies to assure equitable allocation and appropriate
prioritization of efforts.
6. Optimized Resource Allocation – Engage funders
and other qualified advisors to identify, develop, and
sustain a portfolio of efficiency-enabling initiatives
and activities that are consistent with NEEA’s
purpose.
7. Effective Portfolio Execution – Implement the
prioritized portfolio of initiatives, routinely evaluate
progress, and adapt as necessary to achieve
accelerated and sustained market adoption.
transparency and accountability. In addition, NEEA
operates under predetermined principles of planning,
in order to perform a distinct yet complementary role in
advancing energy efficiency in the region.
1. Organizational Values – Cultural qualities serving as
the foundation of how things get done
• Integrity as an individual and institutional priority
• Innovation as a mindset for market transformation
2. Principles of Conduct – Committments fundamental
to effective organizational performance
• Transparency in all things
• Accountability for results
• Careful stewardship and prudent use of
organization resources
• Collaboration as standard practice
3. Principles of Planning – Cornerstones of
organizational design and operation
• Focus on long-term opportunities
• Represent the region’s collective voice
• Strive for lasting, regionally equitable results
• Complement and leverage others’ efforts
• Share risks in support of shared interests
2020-2024 | NEEA Strategic Plan | 8
SUCCESS METRICS
NEEA staff tracks and regularly reports to the Board and
others on a variety of performance statistics.
The Board believes that greater specificity in measuring
the alliance’s success will help prioritize efforts and align
stakeholder expectations, and will determine success
metrics for the 2020-24 business cycle during the
Business Planning Process.
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
As with any effort, a manager’s adherence to promised
boundaries is as important as outcomes achieved. The
Board believes alignment of NEEA’s resources can
be improved by a more policy-driven approach to how
investments in market transformation are prioritized.
Boundaries can help reduce the friction of uncertainty
and improve operating focus and efficiency.
Boundary Conditions also help assure clear roles and
accountabilities for the: i) Board in strategy and policy;
ii) staff in operational execution; and, iii) advisors in
technical and analytic guidance.
Boundary conditions have been established for each
primary strategy and can be found in the appendix.
LOOKING FORWARD
The rapid and dramatic changes that the utility industry is
experiencing will almost certainly continue beyond 2020.
Facing this future, where energy efficiency opportunities are
more challenging and complex, collective action is essential
for the alliance to continue to deliver on its promise of cost-
effective efficiency.
NEEA’s five-year Strategic Plan outlines a path to boost
the region’s energy resilience, by accelerating the adoption
of new energy-efficient technologies and practices that
meet the evolving needs of the region’s utilities and energy
efficiency organizations.
NEEA welcomes this opportunity to rededicate its efforts
to moving markets for energy efficiency - and to continue
to work closely with each funding organization to shape
and create the energy landscape of the Northwest.
2020-2024 | NEEA Strategic Plan | 9
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
2020-2024 | NEEA Strategic Plan | 10
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS - CODES AND STANDARDS
PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW
This Boundary Condition guides NEEA’s engagement in developing, testing,
and increasing the energy efficiency aspects of building codes, product
and equipment standards, and applicable voluntary industry standards that
incorporate and enable the most energy-efficient and reliable technology and
practices. The Policy supports the Codes and Standards Strategy to:
Influence development and support successful implementation of building
codes and equipment efficiency standards to materially improve efficiency
outcomes.
PRINCIPLES – TO GUIDE PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION
1. Geographic Scope – Engage with entities that develop, propose, or adopt codes
and standards that impact efficiency in the region.
2. Types of Energy Uses – Influence codes and standards that impact the efficiency
of building types and energy uses in the Northwest. Also,
engage in codes and standards that enable communications with connected
loads and devices if doing so contributes to efficiency in the region.
3. Methods of Engagement – Engage in developing, testing and promulgating codes
and standards that address energy uses in the region by:
• Offering relevant data, procedures and analysis to support codes and
standards believed to be cost effective, achievable and applicable in the
region; and,
• Assisting local and state authorities in training, education and assessing
compliance with officially adopted codes and standards.
4. Relative Allocation of Resources – Prioritize Codes and Standards efforts among
organization-wide efforts by applying these criteria:
• Cost effectiveness of the code or standard as measured by the criteria
developed in consultation with NEEA’s Cost Effectiveness Advisory Committee;
• Potential for energy and capacity savings in the region; and,
• NEEA’s unique contribution relative to other entities of comparable influence
engaged in the effort.
REQUIREMENTS – FOR STRICT ADHERENCE
1. NEEA will not engage in the enforcement of codes and standards
compliance.
2. Except as permitted by the NEEA Board or this Policy, NEEA will not lobby to
adopt, or not adopt, specific codes and standards.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION – TO ASSESS AND ASSURE ONGOING
EFFECTIVENESS
The Executive Director will provide, and the Board will review, quarterly progress reports
on the qualitative and quantitative effects of NEEA’s efforts hereunder, summarized from
performance metrics established in Business and Operation Plans.
2020-2024 | NEEA Strategic Plan | 11
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS - EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW
This Boundary Condition guides NEEA’s effort to identify, test, refine, and
pilot emerging technologies with the potential to increase efficiency in the
Northwest. This is core work where NEEA can identify and evaluate new
technology more quickly and cost effectively than Funders can likely do on
their own. The Policy supports the Emerging Technology Strategy to:
Routinely scan for, assess, and report on the potential for newly identified
efficiency products, services, and practices and test the field performance
of the most promising opportunities.
PRINCIPLES – TO GUIDE PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION
1. Leverage the Regional Emerging Technology Advisory Committee (RETAC) and
Regional Portfolio Advisory Committees (RPAC) to facilitate the prioritization
of opportunities for joint regional action, cooperative efforts, and disseminated
high priority emerging technologies and to otherwise guide implementation of
this policy.
2. Focus efforts on emerging technologies with the potential to deliver energy
savings to the region as the primary outcome including:
• Existing commercially available product or technology that can be used in a
new, more efficient manner;
• Work with supply chain actors to accelerate the integration of new and
emerging technologies into commercialized products;
• Testing emerging technologies for adherence to claims by developer
or manufacturer, assessing safe and durable function, recommending
improvements or enhancements to suit the Northwest’s diverse climate zones
and sharing findings and insights with distributors and other manufacturers,
when allowed; or
• Emerging technology initiatives where the predominate value is capacity
savings or flexibility, for separate funding by voluntary participants as
approved in advance by the Board.
REQUIREMENTS – FOR STRICT ADHERENCE
1. NEEA will not invest any effort in basic research.
2. NEEA will not assume liability or financial risk to the organization of product
development such as investing in a specific company or product.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION – TO ASSESS AND ASSURE ONGOING
EFFECTIVENESS
The Executive Director will provide, and the Board will review, quarterly progress reports
on the qualitative and quantitative effects of NEEA’s efforts hereunder, summarized
from performance metrics established in Business and Operation Plans.
2020-2024 | NEEA Strategic Plan | 12
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS - MARKET INTELLIGENCE
PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW
This Boundary Condition is to provide a clear sense of Board expectations
of how the organization gathers and uses market intelligence. It is also
to help ensure that NEEA’s market research efficiently complements the
research of funders and other market actors. The Policy supports the
Market Intelligence Strategy to:
Research, analyze and provide actionable insight to support identification
and pursuit of efficiency opportunities and results reporting.
PRINCIPLES – TO GUIDE PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION
1. Thoroughly explore and utilize less expensive secondary research before investing
in primary research, taking advantage of existing bodies of research (e.g.,
E-Source, EPRI).
2. The research portfolio should address the full range of regional markets, including
rural markets and markets east of the Cascades.
REQUIREMENTS – FOR STRICT ADHERENCE
1. Prepare and present regional research activities and budgets, as part of the
annual Operations Plan, for Board review and approval, including activities,
labor and expense budgets, and key performance metrics.
2. Establish clear purpose prior to conducting any research.
3. Make available the findings of any research to funders and other interested
parties, unless approved otherwise by the Board.
4. Seek out opportunities for collaboration with funders and other market actors
during the planning phase of regional research projects to leverage resources,
add complementary value, and avoid redundancies.
5. Coordinate with utilities and funders, especially as may be affected by
downstream research project.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION – TO ASSESS AND ASSURE
ONGOING EFFECTIVENESS
The Executive Director will, as part of regular quarterly updates, provide the Board
with a summary of activities pending, in progress, and research completed under
the approved annual Operations Plan.
2020-2024 | NEEA Strategic Plan | 13
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS -
CONVENING AND COLLABORATING
PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW
This Boundary Condition guides NEEA’s effort to ensure the: i) scope
of activities best serves the core needs and purpose of NEEA and its
Funders; and ii) economy of time, money, and effort for all. The Policy
supports the Convening and Collaborating Strategy to:
Selectively support dialog and coordinate activities among stakeholders
interested in accelerating efficiency through Market Transformation in
the Northwest.
PRINCIPLES – TO GUIDE PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION
1. Focus engagement activities on energy efficiency and Market Transformation
that benefit the region.
2. Prioritize collaborative activities that support NEEA’s purpose and deliver Business
and Operation Plan performance, for the benefit of funders and the region.
REQUIREMENTS – FOR STRICT ADHERENCE
1. As part of the annual Operations Plan, specify the major activities, labor
and expense budgets, and key performance metrics intended to support
the convening and collaborating strategy.
2. Ensure that NEEA staff participating and coordinating work groups and advisory
committees will serve as neutral conveners and technical subject
matter experts.
3. Committees and workgroups will operate consistent with Board-approved charters.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION – TO ASSESS AND ASSURE
ONGOING EFFECTIVENESS
1. The Executive Director will, as part of regular quarterly updates, provide the Board
with a summary of activities pending and results achieved under the
approved annual Operations Plan.
2. The Board will periodically review the charters of advisory committees for fit with
NEEA strategies, policies, and business and operating plans and annually evaluate
advisory committee adherence to the charters.
2020-2024 | NEEA Strategic Plan | 14
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS - PRIORITIZATION
STANDARDS
PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW
This Boundary Condition is to assure resources are equitably allocated and
fairly prioritized to meet NEEA’s obligations to funders and the region. The
Policy supports the Prioritization Standards Strategy to:
Establish polices to assure equitable allocation and appropriate
prioritization of efforts.
PRINCIPLES – TO GUIDE PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION
1. All policies and related planning are to be guided by the understanding that the
costs and benefits of collaborative efforts are not equal but strive to achieve
many of the goals/needs of each funder over time.
2. The Board will deliberate in good faith and make all decisions by consensus if
possible, and otherwise according to NEEA’s Bylaws such that Board directors
support Board decisions even if the outcome is not their preferred option.
3. Policies adopted and other decisions of the Board will be clearly defined and
articulated so that the limits and meaning of each policy and decision are
clearly understood by all.
4. NEEA’s responsibility is to maintain a portfolio that balances benefits equitably
across the region.
REQUIREMENTS – FOR STRICT ADHERENCE
1. Prepare and present an annual view of the portfolio, as a part of the Operations
Plan that shows conformance of portfolio initiatives relative to Board policies
and allocation criteria developed in consultation with the Regional Portfolio
Advisory Committee.
2. NEEA shall prioritize efforts that directly benefit the region, specifically the
initiatives and activities for which support NEEA’s purpose and benefit its
Funders and the region.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION – TO ASSESS AND ASSURE
ONGOING EFFECTIVENESS
As part of the annual Operations Plan process, the Executive Director will
prepare and present an annual report to the Board on the organization’s
adherence to Policy principles and requirements and portfolio allocation criteria
including the costs and consequences of such adherence.
2020-2024 | NEEA Strategic Plan | 15
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS - OPTIMIZED RESOURCE
ALLOCATION
PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW
This Boundary Condition is to ensure: i) stewardship of energy efficiency
Market Transformation efforts; ii) operating plans are clearly defined as to
scopes and budgets; and iii) productive engagement of NEEA staff with
Board, funders, and their customers, markets, regulators, trade allies, and
others. The Policy supports the Optimized Resource Allocation Strategy to:
Engage funders and other qualified advisors to identify, develop,
and sustain a portfolio of efficiency-enabling initiatives that support
funders’ needs and are consistent with NEEA’s purpose.
PRINCIPLES – TO GUIDE PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION
1. Seek out opportunities for collaboration with funders and other market actors
during the planning phase of activities to leverage resources, add
complementary value, and avoid redundancies.
2. Prioritize engagements that deliver direct and measurable energy efficiency
Market Transformation value to the region and its funders.
3. Market Transformation will focus primarily on sustained market changes resulting
in energy efficiency.
REQUIREMENTS – FOR STRICT ADHERENCE
1. Maintain systems, process, records, and reporting protocols sufficient to always
demonstrate fiscal responsibility and effective risk management practices in all
aspects of operations.
2. Material changes, whether anticipated or recently incurred, to the approved
Business and annual Operating Plans, initiatives and activities, labor and
expense budgets, and key performance metrics shall require approval by the
Board.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION – TO ASSESS AND ASSURE ONGOING
EFFECTIVENESS
The Executive Director will, as part of regular quarterly updates, provide the Board with
a summary of activities pending, in progress and results achieved in engaging funders
and other qualified advisors under the approved annual Operations Plan.
2020-2024 | NEEA Strategic Plan | 16
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS -
EFFECTIVE PORTFOLIO EXECUTION
PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW
This Boundary Condition is to maximize the market adoption achievements of
the portfolio and to demonstrate the effective use of funding and delivery of
value to customers in the region. The Policy supports the Effective Portfolio
Execution Strategy to:
Implement the prioritized portfolio of initiatives, routinely evaluate
progress, and adapt as necessary to achieve accelerated and sustained
market adoption.
PRINCIPLES – TO GUIDE PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION
1. Implementation practices are adaptive rather than prescriptive (i.e., data,
evaluation and research findings are to be used to continuously improve
portfolio results).
2. Reports of results are to include over- and under-achievement relative to planned
and expected outcomes.
3. Focus efforts that reduce and/or remove market barriers, primarily upstream
and midstream and on readiness of market transforming energy efficiency for
best overall value and sustained market change.
REQUIREMENTS – FOR STRICT ADHERENCE
1. Ensure regular staff communication with the Regional Portfolio Advisory Committee
and other Board-chartered committees, as appropriate, throughout
the process of identifying, prioritizing, planning and implementing the portfolio.
2. NEEA must act in accordance with the Rules of Engagement for coordinating
Market Transformation efforts between NEEA staff and funders.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION – TO ASSESS AND ASSURE
ONGOING EFFECTIVENESS
The Executive Director will present a quarterly scorecard of portfolio performance based upon
success metrics identified in the Business Plan.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 18
1 BUSINESS PLAN 2020-2024
| 20
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Executive Summary
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Executive Summary I 20
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 22
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Organizational Purpose
More than 20 years ago, utilities around the region
established the Northwest Energy Efficiency
Alliance (NEEA or the alliance),
in a coordinated effort to transform markets
for energy efficiency. NEEA’s 2020-2024 Strategic
Plan states its purpose:
NEEA is an alliance of utilities1 that pools
resources and shares risks to transform the market
for energy efficiency to the benefit of consumers in
the Northwest.
Working together, the alliance drives market
adoption of natural gas and electric energy
efficiency products, services and practices
throughout the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon
and Washington. Since 1996, the alliance has
cost-effectively realized more than 1,720 average
Megawatts (aMW) of electric energy savings through
market transformation.
For most of its existence, the alliance has focused
on driving market adoption of energy efficiency
products, services and practices powered by
electric use. However, in 2014 the alliance began
investing in natural gas market transformation
energy efficiency initiatives. The alliance is
leveraging those initial efforts and is including
both natural gas and electric portfolios, as well as
beginning its first dual-fuel program—Residential
New Construction—in this combined Business
Plan.
1. Utilities are defined as including the Northwest region’s natural gas
and electric utilities as well as the Bonneville Power Administration
and the Energy Trust of Oregon. These are NEEA’s funders.
The Value of the Alliance
Through collaboration and pooling of resources,
the region’s utilities and stakeholders harness their
collective influence to drive market adoption of
efficient products, services and practices for the
benefit of utilities, consumers, and the region in
ways that reduce risk for each individual funder and
deliver economies of scale for the Northwest. This
Business Plan uses the strategic investment in the
alliance to help realize the full benefits of energy
efficiency as the region’s least-cost resource and to
drive sustained market change.
Stewardship of Resources
Energy efficiency delivered through the alliance
continues to be a resource in:
1. Providing cost-effective energy resources
for the region;
2. Positioning funders as a trusted energy advisor
to customers; and
3. Addressing environmental stewardship policies.
Alliance Value
By leveraging the market power of the Northwest,
the alliance provides economies of scale and
reduced risk for individual funders in delivering:
1. Energy efficiency resources that
complement funder resources; and
2. New customer engagement opportunities
for funders.
The 2020-2024 Business Plan will deliver energy
efficiency opportunities that support the region in
providing flexibility in how funders deliver reliable
and affordable electricity and natural gas in a
dynamic market. The work will facilitate energy
efficiency opportunities that:
1. Enable demand management options in
complementary and additive ways to the
alliance’s core energy efficiency work;
2. Mitigate energy and capacity constraints;
3. Provide opportunity for funders to meet
regulatory and potential carbon reduction
requirements;
4. Account for regional equity; and
5. Offer diversification in funders’ portfolios of
energy resources.
2020–2024 Strategic Goals
NEEA will deliver on its purpose, guided by two
complementary goals identified in the 2020–2024
Strategic Plan.

1. Transformation Goal: Sustain a portfolio
of initiatives and support functions that enable
more cost-effective efficiency to occur sooner, in
larger amounts and/or at lower cost than otherwise
expected.
Primary strategies, as outlined in NEEA’s 2020–
2024 Strategic Plan, that the alliance will employ
to meet this market transformation goal are:
Executive Summary | 23
• Emerging Technology: Routinely scan for,
assess, and report on the potential for newly
identified efficiency products, services, and
practices and test the field performance of the
most promising opportunities.
• Effective Portfolio Execution:
Implement the prioritized portfolio of initiatives,
routinely evaluate progress,
and adapt as necessary to achieve accelerated
and sustained market adoption.
• Codes and Standards: Influence development
and support successful implementation of
building codes and equipment efficiency
standards and
test methods to materially improve efficiency
outcomes.
• Convene and Collaborate: Selectively support
dialogue and coordinate activities among
stakeholders interested in accelerating energy
efficiency through market transformation in the
Northwest.
• Market Intelligence: Research, analyze,
and provide actionable insight to support
identification and pursuit of efficiency
opportunities and results reporting.
2. Operations Goal: Continuously improve
organizational culture and performance
efficacy, ensure accountability and transparency,
and strive for innovation in service to the benefit of
all stakeholders.
The primary strategies, as outlined in NEEA’s
2020–2024 Strategic Plan, that the alliance will
employ to meet this operational efficiency goal are:
• Optimized Resource Allocation: Engage
funders and other qualified advisors to identify,
develop, and sustain a portfolio
of efficiency-enabling initiatives and activities
that are consistent with the alliance’s purpose.
• Prioritization Standards: Establish
Board-determined policies to assure equitable
allocation and appropriate prioritization of
efforts.
In addition to the five-year Strategic and
Business Plans, NEEA’s Board of Directors
approves an annual Operations Plan and budget.
The Operations Plan links these key strategies
to specific initiatives, performance metrics and
milestones. It also provides input to alliance
portfolio management systems to ensure the
portfolio delivers value to the region based on
a range of criteria, including: energy savings,
levelized cost of energy saved, regional equity,
rural/ urban equity and risk. This yearly planning
process also helps ensure the alliance’s flexibility,
by presenting new opportunities in a timely manner
as those emerge within the five-year business cycle.
Alliance Energy Savings and Other Value
Metrics for this Plan
The activities outlined in this Business Plan will
produce market changes leading to energy savings in
the near and long term as well as other value to the
region and funders, which are highlighted below.

1. 5-year savings (electric):115-152 aMW of Co-Created Savings and 360-500 aMW of Total Regional electric energy savings within the 2020-2024 funding cycle.
2. 10-year savings (electric): 210-300 aMW of
Co-Created Savings and 650-930 aMW of Total
Regional Savings between 2020-2029. This
includes savings from previous and current
investment funding.
3. 5-year savings (gas): 11-18 million Therms of Total Regional Savings between 2020-2024.
4. 10-year savings (gas): 14-34 million Therms of
Total Regional Savings between 2020-2029.
5. 5-year (electric) capacity savings: 155-278 MWp of total 5-year regional peak capacity electric savings across summer and winter.
6. 5-year (electric) carbon reduction: 419,000-
554,000 Tons of avoided CO22.
A temporary dip is forecasted in the electric co-
created savings stream during this Business Plan
due to previous investments phasing out and new
programs phasing in at a slower rate. The forecast
increases again after 2025, largely due to an
expected federal standard on electric water heaters
mandating heat pump levels of performance.
Savings models are still being developed for
natural gas, but these efforts should realize their
first significant savings beginning in 2019. These
energy savings estimates are detailed further in
Appendix 6.
2. Peak Capacity Savings and Avoided Carbon Emissions are tracked
to identify additional value derived from energy efficiency work, but
have no associated goal or target.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 24
PRIMARY STRATEGIES
(DIRECT COSTS AND SALARY & BENEFITS)ELECTRIC NATURAL GAS EULR3 TOTAL % OF BUDGET
Emerging Technology
Routinely scan for, assess, and report on the potential for newly
identified efficiency products, services, and practices and test
the field performance of the most promising opportunities.
Includes scanning and product management.
$14,516 $1,401 $15,917 8.5%
Effective Portfolio Execution4
Implement the prioritized portfolio of initiatives, routinely
evaluate progress, and adapt as necessary to achieve
accelerated and sustained market adoption. Includes existing
and new programs, including program implementation,
marketing, planning, market research, evaluation, market
intelligence, as well as codes and standards activities directly
associated with specific programs.
$89,642 $12,001 $101,643 54.1%
Codes & Standards
Influence development and support successful implementation
of building codes and equipment efficiency standards and test
methods to materially improve efficiency outcomes.
$16,455 $363 $16,818 9%
Market Intelligence
Research, analyze and provide actionable insight to support
identification and pursuit of efficiency opportunities and results
reporting. Includes market research, evaluation, planning and
market intelligence work that crosses multiple programs.
$8,378 $1,186 $8,884 $18,448 9.8%
Budget Summary
Figure 1 highlights the budget required by key strategy to deliver on the activities outlined in the Business Plan. See the Operations and Budget section for
more detail.
Figure 1: Proposed 5-Year Budget by Strategy ($ Thousands)
3. End Use Load Research is a Special Project.
4. All marketing costs are in the Business Plan budget. The Guiding Principles for Downstream Marketing Activities, outlined in Appendix 9, will determine how the alliance will coordinate and imple-
ment execution options for implementing and funding regional marketing campaigns directed at end-use customers.
PRIMARY STRATEGIES
(DIRECT COSTS AND SALARY & BENEFITS)ELECTRIC NATURAL GAS EULR3 TOTAL % OF BUDGET
Convene and Collaborate (Shared Services)
Selectively support dialogue and coordinate activities
among stakeholders interested in accelerating
efficiency through market transformation in the
Northwest. Includes Stakeholder Relations and
Corporate Communications functions.
$9,740 $9,740 5.2%
Administration (Shared Services)
The people, processes, and technology to support
effective execution to the Business Plan.
Includes IT, contracting, finance, accounting,
legal and human resources.
$24,871 $300 $72 $25,243 13.4%
Allocation of Shared Services5 (4,252)$3,677 $575
Sub-Total Shared Services $30,359 $3,977 $647 $34,983 18.6%
SUB-TOTAL NEEA CORE ACTIVITIES $159,350 $18,928 $9,531 $187,809 100%
Special Projects6 TBD TBD TBD
TOTAL ALL NEEA ACTIVITIES $159,350 $18,928 $9,531 $187,809 100%
5. All of the Shared Services costs are incurred within the electric budget with End Use Load Research and Natural Gas reimbursing Electric for its allocation of Shared Services staff/labor, building space usage
and supplies.
6. Special Projects approved for the alliance to pursue as part of this Business Plan include investment in a Multi-Family Dwelling Stock Assessment, Strategic Energy Management and Industrial Technical
Training Enabling Infrastructure. See Electric Portfolio section and the Natural Gas portfolio section for more information. Additional opportunities described in this plan for the Board to consider include “Accel-
erating and Increasing Flexible Demand Resources in Baseline Efficient Products” and “Integrated Energy Storage in Equipment and Buildings.” See the Business Opportunities Beyond the Plan: Special projects
section for more information on these opportunities.
Executive Summary | 25
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 26
NEEA’S APPROACH TO MARKET TRANSFORMATION
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 27
Market Transformation Approach
NEEA’s market transformation approach focuses
on: identifying energy efficiency opportunities
and the barriers that are preventing this
opportunity from being realized; and developing
and implementing market intervention
strategies to remove barriers and exploit market
opportunities that accelerate adoption of cost-
effective energy efficiency and create lasting
market change.
Figure 2: Market Adoption—With and Without
Market Intervention
The alliance developed its approach to market
transformation more than 20 years ago and has
since been using this approach to transform
markets to become increasingly energy-efficient.
Using this approach, the alliance has delivered
1,720 average megawatts (aMW) of electric
energy efficiency savings to the Northwest, the
equivalent of powering more than 1.2 million
Northwest homes each year.
Market interventions need to be deployed
strategically, with the sequence and timing of
the interventions and the audiences varying
depending on the stage in the adoption curve
and the specific identified barriers. Figure 2
illustrates this adoption curve and the affect
market transformation has on accelerating
market adoption of energy-efficient products,
practices and services.
Key activities that the alliance will continue
to pursue over the next five years as part of its
market transformation approach include:
1. Conducting market scanning and assessment
to identify
energy efficiency opportunities;
2. Testing and readying new products and
services;
3. Designing innovative market strategies to
accelerate energy efficiency;
4. Executing market transformation programs
to remove barriers and accelerate energy
efficiency;
5. Leveraging NEEA’s well-established codes
and standards expertise and relationships
and;
6. Facilitating regional coordination and
planning.

2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 28
To create long-term change in the market,
interventions often influence the technology
developed and brought to market as well as the
behavior of both the supply-and demand-side
market actors. NEEA’s 2020-2024 Strategic Plan
outlines numerous macro trends affecting the utility
and energy industries. Additional market trends
affecting the supply chain include the need to
focus on energy efficiency solutions that can be
applied across national and global markets. Market
consolidation, alignment with state or national
regulation, global competition and pressures
for greater speed to market are the key drivers
of this national and global focus. Supply chain
partners also described customer demand for
energy efficiency as one of several drivers of their
investment in energy efficiency programs.
Complementary Skills and Competencies
NEEA is one of many organizations working toward
improving energy efficiency in the Northwest.
However, the alliance maximizes return on
investment by focusing on areas that leverage its
core competencies and unique strengths in ways
that complement local energy efficiency programs.
Below are characteristics that distinguish the
alliance’s role.
• Aggregation of Market Resources: NEEA is the
only alliance of both public and private utilities
that represents the entire Northwest to national
and global market partners. The aggregation of
market resources will provide the region with
greater potential to influence market actors, as
well as greater economies of scale for the benefit
of its regional stakeholders.
• Objective Promotion of Energy Efficiency:
The alliance’s focus will continue to be on
energy efficiency. Because it has no product
or service to sell or promote, it presents a
credible, objective face to the market.
• Risk Pooling: The alliance continues to create
a regional impact that delivers at a local level,
complementing the efforts of every partner
while mitigating individual risk to any one
utility or organization.
• Long-Term Orientation: Though the alliance
identifies and acts on short-term opportunities
that emerge in the market, the alliance’s long-
term focus identifies and develops emerging
technologies that allow investment in riskier,
long-term energy efficiency initiatives not
typically undertaken by individual utilities.
It also enables and strengthens partnerships
with manufacturers, distributors, retailers and
trade allies.
The alliance represents a unique mix of
competencies and capabilities that has proven to
move markets for efficiency, creating a collective
impact that exceeds what any one organization
could accomplish alone. The alliance will utilize
these skills and key competencies in implementing
the seven strategies that are part of its portfolio
and business operations approach, for both electric
and natural gas. Those two portfolios are detailed
separately in the following sections.
Electric Portfolio | 30
ELECTRIC PORTFOLIOELECTRICPORTFOLIO
Electric Portfolio I 30
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 32
TRANSFORMATIONAL
GOAL:
Sustain a portfolio of programs and
support functions that enable more cost-effective efficiency to occur sooner, in
larger amounts, and/or at lower cost than otherwise expected.
Key Transformational Strategies
1.Emerging Technology - pg 32
2.Effective Portfolio Execution - pg 36
3.Codes and Standards - pg 48
4.Convene and Collaborate - pg 58
5.Market Intelligence - pg 52
STRATEGY 1: EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
Description: Emerging technologies and new
efficiency measures offer new and significant
energy efficiency and demand reduction potential
for the region as documented in the 7th Power
Plan.7 Additionally, new innovations are coming
to market faster than ever, driven in part by
international clean energy investments in energy
efficiency technologies that reached their highest
level ever in 2017.8 New opportunities are
present in every sector and for every end use.
Unit efficiencies are improving, and integrated
intelligence is amplifying the benefits and savings.
Along with increasing connectivity, these trends
are creating new opportunities to embed flexible
demand capability in energy-efficient products
and services as additive value to existing energy
efficiency-focused market transformation work.
DEFINITIONS
Emerging Technology:
An energy-efficient product, service, or best
practice that has the potential for improving
performance, expanding to new markets,
and/or bringing new value to the market.
Pipeline: Emerging technologies at various levels.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving
Emerging Technology Work
1. Energy efficiency emerging technology
opportunities will continue to exist for the
region through 2024 and beyond.
2. While emerging energy efficiency technologiesare plentiful, their complexity will continueto increase due to the common occurrenceof integrated sensors and controls along withconnectivity in new products.
3. Pay-for-performance and other performance-
based energy measurement approaches will
become more common due to the growth of
products that are intelligent and connected,
enabling performance adjustments and new
features at a pace that virtually negates
traditional custom and prescriptive approaches
to unit energy savings. This will add a layer of
complexity to regional emerging technology and
program efforts.
Objectives
1. Help the region achieve its long-term savings
goals by tracking and assessing new measures
identified in the power plans and by the
Regional Technical Advisory Committee
process.
2. Increase regional savings potential byscanning, tracking and assessing newtechnologies not captured in the 7th PowerPlan.
8. Bloomberg Clean Energy Investment Trends, 2017; Abraham Louw;
Published January 16, 2018.
7. The Seventh Northwest Power Plan (Plan) identified 4,300 average
MegaWatts (37.7 million MWh per year) of energy efficiency potential in the Northwest by 2035. Approximately 50% of these savings are from new or
emerging technologies. https://www.nwcouncil.org/energy/powerplan/7/plan/
Special Projects
1.Strategic Energy Management - pg 45
2.Industrial Technical Training - pg 46
3.Multi-Family Dwelling Stock - pg 54Assessment Study
Electric Portfolio | 33
3. Advance the alliance’s portfolio of markettransformation programs by introducing newemerging technologies with the strongestmarket transformation potential.
Success Metrics
1. Portfolio Advancement: Total energy efficiency
market potential of emerging technologies
advanced into the alliance’s market
transformation portfolio over the 5-year
business cycle.
2. Market Advancement: Total energy efficiencymarket potential of emerging technologiesreadied for market development over the 5-yearbusiness cycle.
Key Activities to Provide Value to the Region
Within the alliance’s portfolio of programs, a
large portion of the work will focus on scanning
for emerging technologies and advancing them
through product management. These product
management activities will address products
relevant to the markets specific to those programs.
Additional emerging technology efforts outside
of programs will scan for new opportunities and
will track and advance the readiness of those
technologies to achieve the transformation goals.
By leveraging the alliance’s core strengths of
market influence, economies of scale and risk
pooling, the region can benefit from emerging
technologies at a lower risk and cost than if each
organization explored these technologies on their
own.
1. Scanning:The alliance scans for technologies through:
a. An open unsolicited proposal process;
b. Collaboration with U.S. DOE National Labs,
APRA-e, and other organizations outside
the Northwest; and
c. Engagement with manufacturers
and other market actors.
2. Tracking:
In cooperation with members of the Regional
Emerging Technology Advisory Committee
(RETAC), NEEA staff developed a regional
pipeline that includes emerging technologies
and needed or active projects to assess these
technologies. A common framework for the
status (readiness) of the technologies along
with a common taxonomy for categorizing
the technologies enables anyone interested
in or working on emerging technologies to
see opportunities and add their contributions
(See Emerging Technology Appendix 7).
The regional pipeline has increased the
effectiveness of regional coordination and
encouraged out-of-region organizations to
reference and build on the region’s work. The
regional pipeline, combined with regional and
national collaboration, will continue to be core
organizing elements in advancing emerging
technologies in the 2020–2024 business
cycle.
3. Product Management:
Once technologies are identified and
prioritized, the alliance works to translate the
technologies into a product or measure that
can be evaluated for energy savings, tracked
in the market, and is useful in meeting the
region’s goals. Product management involves
defining the product, considering the
product’s value, based on opportunities and
market barriers, developing and evaluating
test methods, collaborating on performance
specifications, testing commercially available
products, planning for product evolution and
collaborating with manufacturers to adjust
products to better meet the needs of the
Northwest. Product management activities
vary significantly between products, but they
are more aligned within product groupings.
High-level product management activities
are highlighted in the description of the
product groups that follow in the Effective
Portfolio Execution section.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 34
Figure 3: Electric Emerging Technology Opportunity Examples
END USE EMERGING TECHNOLOGY EXAMPLES
Envelope • Light-weight triple pane windows
• Surface applied window films with self-powered/dynamic
control of solar gain and light bending for deeper day lighting
and low emissivity for reduced solar gain
Lighting • Lamps with twice the efficiency of today’s LEDs
• Integrated batteries in lamps, light fixtures and other products
encourage highest efficiency and provide built-in resiliency
Motors and
Drives
• Brushless motors with 5% or better efficiency improvement
and greater longevity
• Motor systems with integrated sensors and controls ensuring
efficient operation across wide operating conditions
HVAC • Heat pumps capable of remaining productive and efficient
through low and high temperatures; controls enable flexible
load management
• Broader range of sizes to enable more applications
Water Heating • Water heaters with improved heat pumps and flexible
demand controls for energy storage and load shifting; smaller form
factors for multi-family water heating
Thin glass triple pane
Examples of Electric Emerging Technology OpportunitiesFigure 3 provides some examples of technologies that the alliance is tracking that could accelerate energy efficiency opportunities for the region.
Electric Portfolio | 35
END USE EMERGING TECHNOLOGY EXAMPLES
Heat Pump
Advances
• CO2 and other natural or low carbon refrigerants
• Variable capacity and control to efficiently heat
and cool over a broader temperature range
Consumer
Products
• Level 2 battery chargers 5% more efficient and 15x faster
than level 1 chargers
• Televisions and displays with higher resolution, brighter colors
and larger sizes without energy intensity gains
• Connected home devices that control lighting, HVAC,
appliances and electronics, etc.
Compressed Air •Intelligent valves that save compressed air, track usage,
and provide alerts when something is wrong
• Smart air nozzles that use 50% of the compressed
air compared to other nozzles
Agriculture • Data collection through drones and other sensors
provide valuable feedback to better manage water,
fertilizers, etc. to improve yields and lower costs
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 36
STRATEGY 2: EFFECTIVE PORTFOLIO EXECUTION
Description: Once a new energy efficiency
opportunity is identified and proven to deliver
reliable energy savings, the alliance develops and
implements market transformation initiatives at
a scale designed to accelerate adoption of these
new opportunities. For 2020–2024, the alliance
is proposing to operate a portfolio of market
transformation programs that can be grouped into
seven Cross-Sector Product Categories or Product
Groups.9
Within each Product Group, the alliance is
developing and implementing programs and
enabling infrastructure activities that have the
potential to deliver significant energy savings
opportunities for the region, while transitioning out
of programs with diminishing potential.
Product Group Approach
NEEA’s market transformation framework will
continue to enable energy savings opportunities
for the region by leveraging relationships and
market channels to align with Product Group
opportunities. This creates efficiencies for
the supply chain whose delivery channels and
technology applications frequently target multiple
customer sectors. This approach also creates
greater leverage across alliance programs,
resulting in increased operating efficiencies.
Figure 4 illustrates the categories of Product
Groups the alliance will focus on, although
additional categories may emerge. Each Product
Group includes multiple programs and emerging
technologies that share supply chain and market
opportunities.
Each Product Group also includes enabling
infrastructure that is leveraged by multiple market
transformation programs across sectors in building
market capability, awareness and demand for
energy-efficient products, services and practices
or new customer engagement opportunities for
funders.
The alliance will also investigate and pursue
emerging technology opportunities within each
Product Group.
RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL • AGRICULTURAL
Building Envelope
Consumer Products Motor-Driven Products
HVAC
Lighting
New Construction
Water Heating
ENABLING INFRASTRUCTURE: • Mid-Stream Channel Platforms • Market Resources • Training

9. Products as defined in this Business Plan refer to products, practices
and services.
Figure 4: Product Groups and Enabling Infrastructure
Electric Portfolio | 37
Increasing Northwest Market Leverage
Through Extra-Regional Collaborations
The alliance will seek to leverage its own efforts to
increase market adoption through collaborations
with extra-regional organizations that share
the same goals and objectives. Traditional
collaborators have included ENERGY STAR,
Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE), American
Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE),
U.S. DOE, DOE National Laboratories and others.
The alliance also collaborates with extra-regional
utilities in specific programs and on codes and
standards activities.
Partnerships with these entities have influenced
efficient product designs and changed distribution
and stocking strategies. NEEA staff has unique
relationships with these market actors built on a
long history of success in the Northwest. However,
the alliance has limited ability to influence market
demand for these products outside the Northwest;
which national and global market actors require
to fully support new, efficient technologies. To
do that, the alliance works with extra-regional
partners that can help build market demand
outside the region in coordinated and consistent
ways.
See the Operations Efficiency section for more
information on how the alliance will collaborate
within the Northwest.

Embedding Flexible Demand Capability in
Energy-Efficient Products and Services
Many of the technologies that generate energy
efficiency–NEEA’s first priority–have a secondary
ability to control or modify the demand that
these devices place on the system. If properly
configured and connected, these technologies can
provide both energy and capacity in support of
the changing needs of the system. This provides
additive value to existing energy efficiency-focused
market transformation work by conducting the
following activities.
1. NEEA will work with market actors to make
the necessary changes to enable efficient
products to be capable of being exercised as
flexible demand resources.
2. NEEA will also work with standard setting
organizations, utilities and manufacturers to move
toward common technical specifications
An example of this work is Heat Pump Water
Heaters (HPWHs). HPWHs already include
sensors, controls and connectivity options
as part of the standard feature set for these
products. Adding capability to be grid-enabled
is primarily a matter of configuring the software
and connectivity of the product. However,
manufacturers need to know what protocols
to design to before they are willing to make
the investment to change their manufacturing
processes. The alliance can leverage its strong
position with manufacturers ensure all HPWHs
have specific product capabilities that reflect
a regional consensus on technical requirements.
that the industry can adopt, resulting in economies of
scale and further reductions in the incremental cost of
this capability.
Market Conditions and Assumptions
NEEA’s 2020–2024 Strategic Plan outlines
numerous macro trends affecting the utility
and energy industries. Additional market trends
affecting the supply chain and their work with the
alliance emerged through interviews conducted
with the supply chain. Key themes from these
interviews and the Strategic Plan inform the
following assumptions:
1. Market consolidation, alignment with state or
national regulation, global competition and
pressures for greater speed to market are all
increasing pressure for manufacturers to seek
solutions that cross regional territories. To
maintain leverage with these market actors,
the alliance must focus on energy efficiency
solutions that can be applied across national
and global markets and coordinate consistent
delivery of these solutions across the nation.
2. Low commodity costs are making it more difficult to acquire energy efficiency cost-effectively and require new and different approaches to capitalize on synergies and reduce program costs.
3. The supply chain and the alliance assume that
increased customer loyalty can be achieved
through energy efficiency programs.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 38
Objectives
1. Implement market transformation initiatives
that deliver sustained market change resulting
in energy savings, capacity savings and
avoided carbon emissions.
2. Increase market channel leverage for funders and the region.
Success Metrics
1. Energy Savings: Estimated five (2020-2024)
and ten (2020-2029) year Total Regional
Savings10 and Co-Created Savings11 forecasts
for the alliance portfolio.
2. Peak Capacity Savings12: Annual achieved and
5-year estimated regional capacity savings
forecast as a result of the
Co-Created savings forecast.
3. Avoided Carbon Emissions13: Annual achieved and 5-year estimated regional avoided carbon emissions as a result of the Co-Created savings forecast.
4. Benefit-Cost Ratio: The Portfolio
benefit-cost ratio reflects the 20-year
value of the regional investment in market
transformation efforts.
Key Activities to Provide Value to the Region
1. Product Groups: Develop and implement market
transformation programs by identifying and
removing market barriers
See Figure 5 and Appendix 1 for more
information about each of these Product
Groups, the unique role the alliance will play
in successfully implementing them in the
market and how this will be done.
10. Total Regional Savings: All savings calculated above the
pre-intervention market starting point.
11. Co-Created Savings: Savings above the naturally occurring
market baseline that is established at the start of the program.
This includes local utility program savings and the calculated
remainder called Net Market Effects.
12. Peak Capacity Savings are tracked to identify additional value
derived from energy efficiency work, but have no associated
goal or target.
13. Avoided Carbon Emissions are tracked to identify additional
value derived from energy efficiency work, but have no
associated goal or target.
Electric Portfolio | 39
Figure 5: Product Groups
PRODUCT GROUPS MARKET DESCRIPTION OBJECTIVES
Building Envelope Includes the supply chain that
manufactures, distributes and sells the
physical separator between the interior and
exterior of a building (a.k.a. the building
envelope), which includes walls, fenestration
and roofs, the end-consumers who
purchases them. NEEA’s current focus is
window products because they are the weak
link in the envelope. These products include
secondary glazing systems (SGS), low-e
storm windows (LES), shades and blinds.
1. Increase availability of certified and labeled window attachment products.
2. Drive awareness and sales of high-performing, energy-efficient window attachment
products within the commercial sector, initially focusing on SGS and LES.
3. Create market transformation opportunities for other window attachment products,
such as films and shades.
4. Identify and explore market transformation opportunities for new high performance
primary windows and innovative lower cost wall systems.
Consumer Products Includes the supply chain (manufacturers,
distributors, physical and online retailers,
contractors and installers) that delivers
consumer goods and services in high volume
as well as end-consumers who purchase
them.
1. Improve U.S. DOE or EPA test protocols so that they accurately reflect real-world
conditions and energy savings.
2. Influence ENERGY STAR specifications or federal standard updates.
Motor-Driven Products Includes the supply chain that
manufactures, distributes, specifies, designs
and installs motor-driven products such as
pumps, fans, compressed air systems and
high-performance motors as well as the
decision makers who influence the purchase
of these products.
1. Increase awareness, stocking and sales of efficient motor-driven products, initially
focusing on pumps.
2. Create market transformation opportunities for other motor-driven products, such
as fans, compressed air systems, and high performance motors.
3. Support procurement practices and standards to drive adoption of more efficient
motor-driven products with integrated controls.
4. Eliminate inefficient products by influencing future U.S. DOE rulemakings on
Pumps, Fans, Compressed Air, and Motors.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 40
PRODUCT GROUPS MARKET DESCRIPTION OBJECTIVES
HVAC Includes the supply chain that manufactures,
distributes, specifies, designs and installs commercial
and residential HVAC products and end-consumers
who purchase them.
1. Transform the market so that unitary, inverter-driven, variable speed heat
pumps (VSHP) are the affordable product of choice to replace electric
forced-air-furnaces in single-family site-built and manufactured homes.
2. Increase Northwest specifiers and installers skill in identifying, designing,
sizing and configuring the most efficient HVAC system for each
application.
3. Transform the market so that Very High Efficiency Dedicated Outside Air
Systems (VHE DOAS) are common practice in applicable existing and new
small to medium-sized commercial buildings.
4. Influence the voluntary market to enable VHE DOAS to be required in
International Energy Conservation Code, ID, MT, OR and WA commercial
building code.
Lighting Includes the supply chain that manufactures,
distributes, specifies, designs and installs lighting
products, including lamps, ballasts, controls
and fixtures as well as end-consumers who purchase
these products.
1. Transform the market so that controls are a standard fixture feature for
little-to-no additional cost.
2. Identify market transformation opportunities for advanced lighting control
systems in space types not well suited for Luminaire Level Lighting
Controls– retail is an especially significant opportunity. Also, identify
efficiency opportunities for control systems that encompass lighting plus
other building systems.
3. Identify market transformation opportunities to drive the market toward
higher efficacy light sources. The Distributor Platform, as an existing
mechanism for influencing distributor sales practices and tracking
progress via sales data, offers a valuable market lever for
this goal.
Electric Portfolio | 41
PRODUCT GROUPS MARKET DESCRIPTION OBJECTIVES
New Construction Includes the supply chain that designs, builds,
verifies and sells residential single-family site built
new homes, manufactured homes, and commercial
new construction, as well as the end-consumer of
these products.
1. Maximize energy efficiency opportunities for new buildings in commercial
and residential new construction code requirements.
2. Inform and enable code advancement through market adoption of
energy-efficient products and practices. On a limited basis, support the
manufactured home market to establish NEEM 2.0 as the primary above
code manufactured home option.
Water Heating Includes all tank type electric water heaters,
including the supply chain that manufactures,
distributes (wholesale and retail), specifies, designs
and installs commercial water heaters and
end-consumers who purchase these products.
1. Support the adoption and integration of the Consumer Technology
Association communication protocol CTA 2045 as standard practice
across all heat pump water heaters supplied to the Northwest.
2. Contribute to a federal standard requiring all electric water heaters be
heat pump water heaters.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 42
2. Alliance Marketing: Create and execute
marketing strategies that support Product
Groups in successfully achieving market
transformation goals.
Marketing is a key tool in removing barriers
and capitalizing on opportunities to increase
the adoption of energy-efficient technologies
and practices. The energy savings estimates
provided in the business plan are contingent
on marketing interventions to influence
broad regional audiences and achieve market
transformation goals. Barriers that marketing
addresses include supply chain readiness,
product availability, product quality,
awareness, product acceptance
and price.

In 2020-2024 the alliance will focus
regional collaboration opportunities on areas
that maximize alliance goals and address
critical decision-making topics. One such
area is marketing and how those activities
are developed and coordinated. The Guiding
Principles for Downstream Marketing
Activities, outlined in Appendix 9, will
determine how the alliance will coordinate
execution options for implementing and
funding regional marketing campaigns
directed at end-use customers.

The alliance is thoughtful and targeted in
the use of marketing to support market
transformation and there is substantial
regional coordination on marketing activities.
Marketing activities are conducted in concert

with other program interventions to achieve
the following outcomes:
1. Engaging upstream.
2. Engaging midstream.
3. Understanding audiences.
4. Providing awareness and education
to residential end-use customer
audiences.
5. Supporting utility and market
partner marketing efforts.
Marketing activities vary based on program
maturity and goals, product availability, and
supply chain and market acceptance of the
product. Marketing is commonly requested
by upstream and midstream market actors
to amplify the impact of their activities
and assist in building awareness of energy-
efficient technologies in the region. Market
research is undertaken to validate and provide
clarity around barriers to product adoption.
When the research indicates awareness or
education about efficient technologies is a
primary barrier, marketing activities are a vital
strategy employed to address the barrier. A
few examples include:
1. When a product is new to the market
marketing is often a key tool in engaging
and demonstrating commitment and value
to manufacturers.
2. As more products enter the market,
manufacturers request region-wide
education and awareness from an
unbiased third party to augment their
individual product marketing efforts.
3. Marketing support motivates midstream
audiences to complete trainings and to
stock and prominently display products.
4. Regional websites provide tools and
resources in an internet-driven world to
educate and inform end-use customer
audiences and then drive them to utility or
partner websites.
Alliance marketing activities are designed
to work in concert with funder marketing
activities. Together, the alliance provides
broad education about features, benefits and
which customer demographics and climate
zones are appropriate for the technology. Once
the customer is aware of the technology and
benefits, they often seek more information on
cost and availability. Utility marketing support
focuses on available incentives that make
product pricing competitive and may also
provide information on qualified installers
and other energy efficiency program benefits.
The combination of these two approaches
effectively provides appropriate information to
customers based on their level of awareness
and interest in the product.

See Appendix 3 for more information about
marketing, how it will be implemented and
associated success metrics for this work.
Electric Portfolio | 43
Figure 6: Alliance Marketing
DESCRIPTION OBJECTIVES
Marketing Marketing activities accelerate market
transformation by providing a clear
understanding of the upstream, midstream
and downstream target audiences and the
best ways to influence them. Marketing
directly addresses key market barriers
prevalent across the portfolio including
lack of awareness, differentiation of energy-
efficient products, understanding of product
benefits, and lack of supply chain support
and investment. Alliance marketing strategies
and activities are created and executed in
close collaboration with Northwest utilities,
extra-regional efficiency organizations, the
supply chain and national partners.
Drive the adoption of the practices and technologies that the alliance
supports through:
1. Awareness building and education
2. Partnerships with manufacturers, national/regional organizations
3. Uniform messaging and promotion to target audiences in the Northwest
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 44
3. Enabling Infrastructure: Develop and implement Cross-Cutting Enabling Infrastructure that builds market capability, awareness and demand for energy-efficient products, services and practices or new customer engagement opportunities for funders.
Figure 7: Enabling Infrastructure
INFRASTRUCTURE DESCRIPTION OBJECTIVES
MIDSTREAM CHANNEL PLATFORMS
Distributor Platform This platform is comprised of key relationships,
ongoing data collection activities and repeatable
program processes developed through previous
program work. The platform supports multiple
programs within a number of Product Groups,
including lighting, motor-driven systems and water
heaters.
1. Leverage the relationships, interventions and data capabilities
of the distributor platform to achieve cost effective savings
and new utility customer engagement opportunities across
multiple product categories.
2. Foster mutually beneficial relationships between distributors
and the alliance that:
a. Motivate distributors to stock and sell targeted
energy-efficient products.
b. Incentivize and facilitate secure delivery of branch-level
sales data for targeted product categories.
Retail Platform While primarily supporting the Retail Product
Portfolio program, the Retail Platform is
designed to support virtually any energy-efficient
Consumer Product flowing through the retail
channel. To date, the platform has resulted
in deeper relationships with strategic national
retailers and extra-regional partners, has provided
access to full-category sales data, and has given
the region greater influence on the ENERGY
STAR specification process. For retailers, the
platform significantly reduces costs associated
with administration of efficiency programs by
creating a consistent process for sharing data and
transferring incentive payments.
1. Add additional products and retailers to the platform as
needed to accelerate market transformation of consumer
products.
2. Leverage the platform to support funders’ local midstream
efforts as requested.
Electric Portfolio | 45
INFRASTRUCTURE DESCRIPTION OBJECTIVES
MARKET RESOURCES
Integrated Design Labs The Labs are an important partner to alliance
programs, accelerating market transformation
through research, technical assistance and
education that are used by alliance programs and
market partners.
1. Influence new construction and renovation projects to cost-effectively
achieve exceptional energy performance targets and serve as a model for
future buildings and practices.
2. Deliver valuable energy efficiency resources that serve multiple product
initiatives as well as funders and their customers.
BetterBricks BetterBricks is a resource that supports the
alliance’s commercial and industrial programs
by raising market awareness and capability for
energy efficiency technologies and decision-
making. The target audiences for this work include
building owners, property managers, building
facilities staff, architects, designers, engineers
and contractors. The BetterBricks resource is
supported by two main components:
1. The BetterBricks website, which provides
information, tools and resources about efficient
buildings
2. Market relationships
1. Position BetterBricks as a trusted resource for professionals who own,
operate, and manage commercial buildings to learn about energy efficiency
best practices and technologies.
2. Facilitate broader adoption of energy-efficient products and practices
and higher utilization of utility programs and incentives for commercial
buildings.
Commercial & Industrial
Strategic Energy
Management
(Special Project)
Strategic Energy Management (SEM) is
recognized as a pathway to deeper energy
efficiency within commercial and industrial
programs, and is a foundation for deeper and
more enduring customer relationships. Existing
SEM infrastructure is the result of several years of
regional investment and collaboration. The 2015-
2019 funding cycle work established valuable
SEM tools and resources on the online SEM
Hub knowledge center, increased consensus on
common SEM standards, and improved regional
and national collaboration on SEM initiatives.
1. Enable commercial and industrial customers to see value in SEM as a
strategy for meeting their sustainability and energy performance goals.
2. Enable greater development and use of high-value SEM tools and resources
by regional stakeholders to launch, grow, and sustain regional SEM
programs.
3. Leverage the SEM Hub Energy Management Assessment (EMA) tool to
measure baseline SEM practices and identify targeted savings opportunities.
4. Build regional and national consensus on SEM as a best practice
or de facto standard.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 46
INFRASTRUCTURE DESCRIPTION OBJECTIVES
TRAINING
Top Tier Trade Ally Training The Top Tier Trade Ally infrastructure builds
lighting trade ally skills to support the delivery of
energy-efficient commercial and industrial lighting
retrofit projects. Investment in the 2015-2019
funding cycle established NXT Level training
and designation, which are the foundation for
advanced training infrastructure that will enable
the region to meet evolving training needs of
commercial and industrial lighting trade allies. As
the NXT Level base grows, NEEA will seek market
partners to sustain market delivery and regional
support.
1. Train trade allies to effectively specify, design, sell and install
the most efficient technology, in support of alliance initiatives
and funder program goals.
2. Grow NXT Level training and designations to support regional
programs.
Industrial Technical Training
(Special Project)
Industrial Technical Training infrastructure
provides coordinated technical training on key
industrial energy efficiency concepts to support
industrial energy efficiency programs and build
market capacity to implement industrial energy
efficiency projects.
1. Build industrial energy efficiency awareness
and technical capacity among the region’s industrial
end-users.
2. Achieve economies of scale for providing industrial energy
efficiency training in support of alliance programs.
Electric Portfolio | 47
Figure 8: Enabling Infrastructure
Enabling Infrastructure supports existing and future market transformation programs, which each Product Group leverages, as indicated below.
See Appendix 5 for more information.
DISTRIBUTOR PLATFORM RETAIL PLATFORM BETTERBRICKS C&I SEM (Special Project)
TOP TIER TRADE ALLY
INDUSTRIAL TECHNICAL TRAINING (Special Project)
Building Envelope X X X X
Consumer Products X
Motor Driven Products X X X X
HVAC X X X
Lighting X X X X X X
New Construction X
Water Heating X X
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 48
STRATEGY 3: CODES AND STANDARDS
Description: Building energy codes set minimum
efficiency requirements for residential and
commercial buildings for the design, materials
and equipment used in new construction and
major renovations. Energy codes present a unique
opportunity to assure savings through efficient
building design, technologies and construction
practices in a cost-effective way. The alliance
supports regional stakeholders in energy
code development and adoption, training and
implementation.
Appliance and equipment standards specify the
minimum energy and/or water efficiency levels of
specific products including major home appliances
like clothes washers and refrigerators, commercial
and industrial equipment such as motors and
transformers, HVAC equipment, lighting, and
electronics. Equipment standards are set by U.S.
Department of Energy (U.S DOE) through a public
rulemaking process. NEEA staff serve as technical
experts and providers of data in U.S. DOE’s
rulemakings to encourage the adoption of federal
appliance and equipment efficiency standards.

Market Conditions and Assumptions
Driving Codes and Standards Focus
1. The codes and standards landscape has evolved substantially over the course of the 2015-2019 Business Plan. The current federal administration has set aside U.S. DOE’s federal standards and test and rating procedure rulemakings for an undetermined period. In response, the standards community has turned to state and regional forums to further this work. New partnerships will enable the development of new, more effective test and rating procedures that can be used in voluntary programs to promote the best-performing equipment and systems. 2. Codes and standards continue to be one the most cost-efficient ways to ensure adoption of efficiency measures and provide significant benefits to consumers. The alliance will continue to work with emerging technologies, utility programs and market research to develop road maps and long-term goals for advancing codes and standards through strategic partnerships.
Objectives
1. Influence the development of and support for successful implementation of building energy codes in each of the four states in the region. 2. Continue to advance equipment efficiency standards and improve test rating methods and procedures.
Success Metrics
1. Count of new code proposals, which reduce regional energy intensity that are adopted each year. 2. Count of new product standards, which reduce regional energy intensity that are adopted each year.
Key Activities to Provide Value to the Region
With its extensive background in product technologies of many types, and a growing catalog
of field data, the alliance can be a leader in these collaborative efforts to advance progressively more
efficient codes and standards. Several alliance programs and utility programs can leverage
the new test and rating procedures to advance regional efficiency work. Later, this work can be
leveraged to upgrade federal procedures. In the codes realm, the region has seen some notable
achievements in energy code enhancement, especially in Washington State. The adoption of
new codes in all four states demonstrates regional progress in constructing better buildings and
acknowledges steady improvement in building and system technologies. Post-adoption education,
training and technical support to local jurisdictions support high compliance rates that, in turn,
optimize building performance and realize energy savings in a cost-effective way. Specific activities
the alliance implements to support these efforts include:
Electric Portfolio | 49
1. Developing and supporting energy code development in individual states. In Idaho and Montana, this requires supporting code proposals in the national model code International Energy Conservation Code process. In Oregon and Washington, this means supporting code proposals in their respective state-specific code processes.
2. Providing codes education, training and
technical support to individual states, which
will support the implementation of codes and
achieve energy savings in buildings.
3. Supporting new test methods for several products and systems including:
a. heat pump and air conditioning systems;
b. packaged commercial HVAC equipment;
c. clothes dryers and clothes washers;
d. certain types of fans, pumps; and,
e. several types of split-system hydronic
heat pump and chilled water products.
4. Participating in the U.S. DOE equipment
standards and test procedures rulemaking
process by providing technical input, testing
and market data and analysis.
5. Collaborating with emerging technology
activities, utility programs and market research
to develop roadmaps and long-term goals
for advancing codes and standards through
strategic partnerships, such as the Canadian
Standards Association and the Pacific Coast
Collaborative.
6. Working with Consumer Technology Association, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, U.S. DOE and state and local agencies to standardize requirements governing open standard protocols for flexible demand functionality as an integral component of efficient products and buildings.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 50
STRATEGY 4: CONVENE AND COLLABORATE
Description: The alliance’s Convene and
Collaborate activities are overseen by
the Stakeholder Relations and Corporate
Communications functions at NEEA. They include
internal and external activities that support
effective and transparent regional collaboration
and market transformation programs.
Assumptions Driving Convene and Collaborate
Activities
1. Funders and stakeholders require
communication and coordination on the
plans for and results of alliance work
through formal and informal channels.
Existing channels include:
a. Workgroups: Alliance programs
convene workgroups to inform program
implementation strategies and activity
coordination with funders and stakeholder
programs. There are currently 10
workgroups.
b. Advisory committees: These are used
to inform program design and market
strategies. There are currently seven
advisory committees.
c. Board committees: These provide
Board oversight and governance of
the organization. There are currently
four standing and four ad-hoc Board
committees.
2. Stakeholder coordination will be sized
to align with available resources while
balancing regional needs.
3. NEEA staff must have adequate
understanding of funder and key
stakeholder business needs and how they
relate to alliance programs to effectively
and efficiently design and execute the
alliance’s portfolio of work.
4. Market partners and supply chain actors
must understand the alliance and the value
it brings them for successful execution of
market transformation programs.
5. Regional collaboration (both online and
in-person) drives market transformation
success and brings value to funders and
stakeholders.
6. Facilitation of regional collaboration is
required to achieve regional strategic goals
identified by funders and stakeholders.
Objectives
1. Ensure alliance stakeholders are heard and their viewpoints inform alliance work as it evolves by following established Rules of Engagement (see Strategy 6: Optimized Resource Allocation).
2. Convene the region to enable regional
energy efficiency work that reflects the
diverse needs of the region.
3. Bolster the alliance’s market influence to maximize support for market transformation efforts.
4. Support organizational development and effectiveness of NEEA staff in understanding funder and regional business needs.
Success Metric
Positive funder and stakeholder satisfaction: Measure and maintain strong funder and stakeholder satisfaction through an annual satisfaction survey and regular funder and stakeholder engagements.
Key Activities to Provide Value to the Region
1. Board of Directors, Advisory Committee, and
Workgroup meeting facilitation to foster:
a. Regional input and conversations that drive
alliance work in ways that complement
funders’ and alliance programs;
b. Board of Director leadership, oversight
governance of and advocacy for the
organization, and contributions of insight
and other support and value; and
c. Collaboration between market actors,
researchers, funders and industry leaders
to understand technology and market
trends, opportunities and pitfalls as well as
advance energy efficiency opportunities.
Electric Portfolio | 51
2. Funder Account Management to understand and convene discussion on funder and regional perspectives on alliance initiatives, ensure funder coordination plans are implemented throughout every stage of the Initiative Lifecycle Process (see Operations Efficiency section) and that funders have the information and resources needed to collaborate effectively in alliance work.
3. External Communications that increase supply
chain understanding of the alliance and
the value it can provide market partners
through NEEA’s corporate website, program
communications materials and other
strategic communications, including those
related to Strategic and Business Planning.
Corporate communication supports market
transformation programs through recognition
and celebration of market partner success and
participation in alliance programs.
4. Efficiency Exchange Conference to provide a
forum for knowledge-sharing to help regional
energy efficiency professionals achieve their
goals as well as networking opportunities. The
Efficiency Exchange Conference is an event
provided for the benefit of staff from funding
and stakeholder organizations.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 52
STRATEGY 5: MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Description: Market Intelligence (MI) is defined
as the systematic and objective identification,
collection, analysis, and dissemination of data,
information, and insight for assisting decision
making to advance and report progress of
energy efficiency and market transformation. This
description covers work in evaluation, research,
regional studies, planning and
market trend analysis.
Assumptions Driving Market Intelligence Focus
1. Market Research and Evaluation efforts:
a. The region will continue to value independent evaluations of all programs.
b. The number and complexity of programs
will continue to increase over time.
c. The demand for information gathered through Market Research will continue to increase to support adaptive management and continual improvement on programs.
2. Large-scale Data Collection and Analyses
Studies:
a. The region will continue to value the Residential Building Stock Assessment (RBSA) and Commercial Building Stock Assessment (CBSA).
b. The depth and number of codes that will be
necessary to evaluate will increase.
c. Large-scale data collection and analysis studies will require the same level of stakeholder engagement.
d. A lack of awareness of existing data has
led to expensive duplication of research,
and enabling direct access to regionally-
specific energy efficiency data would help
streamline and enhance regional energy
efficiency efforts.
e. There is an emerging need for a Multi-Family Stock Assessment. Multifamily buildings make up a large and increasing share of new construction in the region, with nearly a third (31%) of commercial building floor area since 2013 happening in these building types, including an increasing portion in Idaho and Montana. (This assumption applies to a potential Special Project.)
3. Market Planning:
a. The region will continue to value the
alliance’s work to analyze, estimate,
document, report and forecast the potential
energy savings and other value metrics
associated with the market transformation
efforts of each measure and for the full
portfolio, in accordance with current energy
savings accounting practices.
b. Funders will continue to require reporting
and forecast needs as is currently done.
c. Measure levels are increasing in complexity
and volume. Alliance measures have grown
from 80 measures in 2014 to a current
volume in 2018 of 170+. The alliance
expects the size and complexity of its
portfolio to remain at this current level, if
not increase due to the system integration
overlap complexity of future measure work.
d. Granular data gathering efforts will
continue to be needed to inform service
territory performance.
e. Market data gathering above and beyond
program data needs will be needed to
support Northwest Power and Conservation
Council data and planning needs.
4. Marketplace Trend Analytics:
a. Requests for data analytics that target
customer types, buildings, or other areas
that are most likely to engage with specific
technologies or activities will continue or
increase.
b. Many of the data sets, tools and
capabilities NEEA has organized for
Marketplace Trend Analytics are done cost
effectively, leveraging NEEA’s nonprofit
status.
c. Applying the findings of the RBSA and
EULR to the region’s building stock will
continue to identify opportunities for
improved performance and identify gaps in
regional energy efficiency efforts.
Objectives
1. Ensure valuable and defensible evaluation,
market progress tracking and energy savings
accounting and estimating to assess results
from market transformation efforts.
2. Provide research and market intelligence that lends value to program and business planning needs for internal and external partners.
3. Maintain data collection and housing best
practices.
Electric Portfolio | 53
Success Metrics
1. Actionable information: Conduct evaluations
that provide valuable inputs for program
planning and validated assumptions for best
accuracy of savings and other value reporting.
2. Customer service: Meet individual funder and Power Council needs for savings forecasting, reporting and other data or market intelligence needs in a timely, accurate manner.
3. Actionable data: Increased and/or
comprehensive access to data, data
infrastructure and analytics necessary to
strategically influence the market toward
measurable transformation.
Key Activities
Through the MI work, NEEA enhances decision
making and mitigates risk for the region for
current programs, as well as for the next
generation of resource planning and programs.
When done on a regional scale, this work provides
substantial economies of scale. Specific MI
activities that support the alliance’s market
transformation work include:
1. Market Research and Evaluation to inform market transformation efforts as well as formal evaluations of programs in market development. When possible, the alliance leverages secondary research first to inform program efforts. Primary market research in both quantitative and qualitative forms is used when secondary research is unavailable or inadequate for regional needs. Primary research provides:
a. Insight into potential target market sizing and segmentation.
b. Market characterization efforts.
c. Baseline estimates that project adoption of energy-efficient products, services and practices.
d. Independent, third-party evaluations to
assess the impact or processes of alliance-
funded programs.
2. Market Planning to support the organization with analytical expertise responsible for forecasting and reporting cost effective, energy savings and other value metrics. The department develops and manages cost effectiveness models, defensible methodologies to measure the effects of market interventions and other valuation tools to support alliance programs at various stages of the market transformation initiative’s lifecycle. Market Planning is also responsible for the portfolio management system to ensure that the alliance is on track to meet its business plan goals.
3. Marketplace Trend Analytics delivers insights
to alliance programs and regional stakeholders
to assist in their strategic decision-making.
NEEA creates, purchases, and compiles
gigabytes of regional data to answer business
questions through the blending of data
sets. These analyses may be as simple as
targeting households based on structure
and demographic data for a single program
to inform targeted outreach or as complex
as identifying representative census blocks
for building stock analysis research in the
Northwest. This work will include development
of an open data catalog, which will enable
secure sharing of data across the region easily among stakeholders and creation of interactive web-based views of building stock, demographics, business types, and other critical factors for program staff and stakeholders to consider while developing market transformation strategies.
Other Market Intelligence activities that support alliance and regional energy efficiency efforts include:
1. Large-Scale Data Collection and Analysis Studies. NEEA manages large-scale data collection and analysis studies, including:
Stock Assessments
• Regional Building Stock Assessments
(Commercial & Residential) that
characterize the existing building stock
to account for regional differences such
as climate, building practices and fuel
choices. The residential assessment will
focus on single family homes. These
stock assessments will also collect and
analyze plug load data to help the region
identify opportunities to manage plug load
growth and may address “the why” behind
the energy trends of building stock and
behavioral tendencies of occupants for the
residential single family study. This will
improve the alliance’s ability to understand
these trends and influence energy efficiency
efforts going forward. The commercial stock
assessment will be scoped and started in
the 2020-2024 Business Plan and will be
concluded early in the next business cycle
(2025-2029).

2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 54
• Multi-Family Dwelling Stock Assessment Study (Special Project): To accurately characterize
the Multi-Family Dwelling Unit building stock, sample design and data collection
protocols need to be different from single family residential buildings and commercial
buildings. By performing a Multi-Family Building Stock Assessment, the alliance
will have a better understanding of the market, which will support new energy
efficiency opportunities.
Code Compliance Evaluations
• State-Specific Code Compliance Evaluations (Commercial & Residential) that measure the
impact of code on energy consumption in residential & commercial new construction,
identifying the most impactful code and performance opportunities for the region to
address.
• This Business Plan proposes to conduct a single family residential study in two states.
2. Specially Funded Initiative: Northwest End-Use Load Research Study The alliance, in collaboration with organizations in the Northwest, is currently conducting a specially-funded Northwest End Use Load Research Study to determine how residential and commercial customers in the region are using electricity. To perform this study, NEEA and its partners plan to meter electric circuits in 400 residences throughout the Northwest for five years at one-minute intervals. Energy use data for key residential end uses of electricity, including heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, forced air furnaces,
central air conditioners and electric baseboard heaters will be obtained. In the commercial sector, approximately 100 buildings are planned for metering. This information will help the region achieve its energy goals by providing a more accurate assessment of the contributions of energy-efficient technologies toward reducing peak demand, and lowering energy resource costs.
Natural Gas Portfolio | 56
NATURAL GAS PORTFOLIONATURALGASPORTFOLIO
Natural Gas Portfolio I 56
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 58
TRANSFORMATIONAL
GOAL:
Sustain a portfolio of programs and
support functions that enable more cost-
effective efficiency to occur sooner, in
larger amounts, and/or at lower cost than
otherwise expected.
Key Transformational Strategies
1. Emerging Technology - pg 58
2. Effective Portfolio Execution - pg 61
3. Codes and Standards - pg 64
4. Convene and Collaborate - pg 66
5. Market Intelligence - pg 68
STRATEGY 1: EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
Description: Emerging technologies offer new
and significant energy efficiency for the region.
Though efficient natural gas technologies have
historically lagged behind electric technologies,
the Northwest’s investment in natural gas
efficiency in the 2015-2019 business cycle,
along with investments by other utilities around
the country, have accelerated market interest
in commercialization efforts for new efficient
products.
In the 2020-2024 funding cycle, the alliance’s
emerging technology efforts will continue focusing
on identifying and vetting efficient natural gas
products, practices and services with the potential
to increase consumer choices and more efficiently
use natural gas in the Northwest.

DEFINITIONS
Emerging Technology:
An energy-efficient product, service, or best
practice that has the potential for improving
performance, expanding to new markets,
and/or bringing new value to the market.
Pipeline: Emerging technologies at various levels.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving
Emerging Technology Work
1. Energy efficiency emerging technology opportunities will continue to exist for the region through 2024 and beyond.
2. While emerging energy efficiency technologies
are plentiful, many face cost effectiveness
challenges.
3. Product cost reductions through cost engineering and potential economies of scale hold promise for meeting utility cost effectiveness targets.
Objectives
1. Help the region achieve its long-term savings goals by scanning, tracking and assessing new gas measures.
2. Advance the alliance’s portfolio of market
transformation programs by introducing new
emerging technologies with the strongest
market potential.
Success Metrics
1. Portfolio Advancement: Total energy efficiency market potential of emerging technologies advanced into the alliance’s market transformation portfolio over the 5-year business cycle.
2. Market Advancement: Total energy efficiency
market potential of emerging technologies
readied for market development over the
5-year business cycle.
Budgeted Special Projects
1. Strategic Energy Management - pg 63
2. Industrial Technical Training - pg 63
3. Multi-Family Dwelling Stock - pg 69
Assessment Study
Natural Gas Portfolio | 59
Key Activities to Provide Value to the Region
Within the alliance portfolio of programs, a portion
of the work will focus on emerging technologies
and product management. These activities will
address products relevant to markets specific to
those programs. Additional emerging technology
efforts outside of programs will scan for new
opportunities and will track and advance the
readiness of those technologies to achieve
transformation goals. By leveraging the alliance’s
core strengths of market influence, economies
of scale and risk pooling, the region can benefit
from emerging technologies at a lower risk and
cost than if each organization explored these
technologies on their own.
1. Scanning: The alliance scans for technologies through:
a. An open unsolicited proposal process;
b. Annual sponsorship and technical partnership with the Gas Technology Institute;
c. Collaboration with utilities, DOE National
Labs, DOE Advanced Research Projects
Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and other
organizations outside the Northwest; and,
d. Discussions with manufacturers and other market actors.
2. Tracking:
In cooperation with members of the Regional
Emerging Technology Advisory Committee
(RETAC), NEEA staff developed a regional
pipeline that includes both gas and electric
emerging technologies and needed or active
projects to assess these technologies. A
common framework for the status (readiness)
of the technologies along with a common
taxonomy for categorizing the technologies enables anyone interested in or working on emerging technologies to see opportunities and add their contributions (see Emerging Technology Appendix 7). This regional pipeline has increased the effectiveness of regional coordination and encouraged out-of-region organizations to reference and build on the region’s work. The regional pipeline, combined with regional and national collaboration, will continue to be core organizing elements in advancing emerging technologies in the 2020–2024 business cycle.
3. Product Management:
Once technologies are identified and
prioritized, the alliance works to translate the
technologies into an evaluable product or
measure that is useful to meet the region’s
goals. Product management involves defining
the product, considering the product’s
value based on opportunities and market
barriers, developing and evaluating test
methods, collaborating on performance
specifications, testing commercially available
products, planning for product evolution and
collaborating with manufacturers to adjust
products to better meet the needs of the
Northwest. Product management activities
vary significantly between products, but they
are more aligned within product groupings.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 60
Examples of Natural Gas Emerging Technology Opportunities
Some examples of technologies that the alliance is tracking that could provide value to the region can be seen below.
Figure 9: Natural Gas Emerging Technology Opportunity Examples
END USE EMERGING TECHNOLOGY EXAMPLES
Envelope • Light-weight triple pane windows
• Surface-applied window films with self-powered / dynamic
control of solar gain and light bending for deeper day lighting
and low emissivity for reduced solar gain

HVAC • Gas-driven combination systems capable of heating space
and water at greater than 100% efficiency
• Systems that are able to provide cooling capabilities
and/or backup power as well as utilize internal combustion engine,
adsorption/absorption or modified sterling engine technology

Water Heating • Gas-fired heat pump water heaters capable of achieving a UEF >1
• Smart circulator pumps that reduce heat loss

Thin glass triple pane
Natural Gas Portfolio | 61
STRATEGY 2: EFFECTIVE PORTFOLIO EXECUTION
Description: Once a new energy efficiency
opportunity is identified and proven to deliver
reliable energy savings, the alliance develops
and implements market transformation initiatives
at a scale that can accelerate adoption of these
new opportunities.
In 2015-2019, the alliance began its first
collaboration on natural gas market transformation.
For this first five-year period, the alliance adopted
a strategy that focused on implementing a small
portfolio of initiatives, designed to allow the
alliance to gain experience working on gas market
transformation together and minimize major
organizational changes. This initial foray resulted
in significant progress in product development
and market characterization as well as funder
collaboration within the region and with extra-
regional partners, such as the Gas Technology
Institute. Some products from the initial portfolio
met with unexpected barriers (dryers and hearths) or
didn’t progress as quickly as expected (combination
units) and are therefore not included as full
programs in the 2020–2024 business cycle.
For 2020–2024, NEEA is proposing to operate
a portfolio of natural gas market transformation
programs that includes two gas-only programs
(Condensing Rooftop Units, Efficient Gas Water
Heating) and one dual-fuel program (Next Step
Homes). This diverse portfolio covers residential and
commercial products, retrofit and new construction
applications, a range from
pre-commercialized products to those currently in
the market, and three product groups: HVAC, Water Heating, and New Construction.
The market transformation theory and key activities for each of these natural gas market transformation
programs are detailed further in Appendix 2. Per the Operations Efficiency section of this plan,
NEEA staff will manage the portfolio adaptively, potentially shifting resources between programs with
funder guidance, as market opportunities emerge throughout the 5-year cycle.
Market Conditions and Assumptions
NEEA’s 2020–2024 Strategic Plan outlines numerous macro trends affecting the utility
and energy industries. Additional market trends affecting the supply chain and their work with the
alliance surfaced through interviews conducted with the supply chain. Key themes from those interviews
inform the following assumptions:
1. Market consolidation, alignment with state or national regulation, global competition and pressures for greater speed to market are increasing pressure for manufacturers to seek solutions that cross regional territories. To maintain leverage with these market actors, the alliance must focus on energy efficiency solutions that can be applied across national and global markets and coordinate consistent delivery of these solutions across the nation.
2. The supply chain sees value in energy efficiency programs to reach new customer segments or increase customer loyalty.
3. Low commodity costs are making it more difficult to acquire energy efficiency cost-
effectively and requiring new and different approaches to capitalize on synergies and reduce program costs.

Objectives
1. Implement market transformation initiatives
that deliver energy savings and avoided
carbon emissions.
2. Increase market channel leverage for funders and the region.
Success MetricsBecause the programs in the natural gas portfolio are early stage (pre-Market Development), they have an estimated 20-year savings potential but no detailed models have been developed yet to forecast short-term savings. Therefore, success metrics for the 2020-2024 business cycle will be reported, but specific targets have not been defined. All metrics are currently under review and the timing and scale of savings will be further refined as alliance natural gas savings models are developed.
1. Energy Savings: Estimated Total Regional
Savings forecasts for the alliance Portfolio.
Five (2020-2024) and ten (2020-2029) year
forecasts of the initiative investment portfolio
will be provided.
2. Avoided Carbon Emissions: Annual achieved and 5-year estimated regional avoided carbon emissions as a result of the total Co-Created savings forecast.
3. Benefit-Cost Ratio: A Portfolio benefit-cost ratio
that reflects the 20-year value of the regional
investment in market transformation efforts.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 62
Key Activities to Provide Value to the Region
1. Programs: develop and implement market
transformation programs by identifying and
removing market barriers. See Figure 10
and Appendix 2 for more information about
these programs.

2. Alliance Marketing: Create and excecute marketing strategies that support programs in successfully achieving market transformation goals. The alliance will begin to develop marketing activities for its natual gas programs in 2020-2024, based on the approach outligned in Appendix 3.
3. Enabling Infrastructure: Develop and
implement Cross-Cutting Enabling
Infrastructure that builds market capability,
awareness and demand for energy-efficient
products, services and practices or new
customer engagement opportunities for
funders. See Figure 11 for examples of
enabling infrastructure needed. Other
activities may be identified as natural gas
programs develop.
PROGRAMS MARKET DESCRIPTION OBJECTIVES
Condensing Rooftop
Units (C-RTUs)
Includes the supply chain that manufactures,
distributes, specifies, designs and installs
commercial HVAC products and the end consumer
who purchases them.
1. Transform the market so that Northwest commercial building owners and
managers install C-RTUs as standard practice in applicable existing and new
small to medium-sized commercial buildings.
2. Increase Northwest specifier and installer skill in designing, sizing and
configuring C-RTUs for applicable commercial buildings.
3. Influence a federal requirement of at least 90% efficiency for commercial warm
air furnaces.
4. Influence the development of a readily-available C-RTUs with cost, weight and
reliability in line with a C-RTUs.
Next Step Homes Includes the supply chain that designs, builds,
verifies and sells residential single-family site built
new homes. Leverages the work and resources
of the alliance’s established, electric Next Step
Homes program.
1. Maximize energy efficiency opportunities for new homes in residential new
construction code requirements.
2. Influence developers and builders to incorporate advanced energy-efficient
products and practices in new homes.
3. Inform and enable code advancement through market adoption of energy-
efficient products and practices.
Efficient Gas Water
Heating (EGWH)
Includes the supply chain that manufactures,
distributes (wholesale and retail), specifies,
designs and installs residential gas-fired water
heaters and the end consumers who purchase
these products.
1. Transform the residential gas water heating market, ultimately making gas heat
pump water heaters the standard in gas water heating appliances.
2. Influence federal manufacturing standards for residential storage gas water
heaters to require a Uniform Energy Factor >1 for units larger than 35 gallons by
2030.
Figure 10: Natural Gas Programs
Natural Gas Portfolio | 63
INFRASTRUCTURE DESCRIPTION OBJECTIVES
MARKET RESOURCES
Commercial & Industrial
Strategic Energy
Management
(Special Project)
Strategic Energy Management (SEM) is
recognized as a pathway to deeper energy
efficiency within commercial and industrial
programs, and is a foundation for deeper and
more enduring customer relationships. Existing
SEM infrastructure is the result of several years of
regional investment and collaboration. The 2015-
2019 funding cycle work established valuable
SEM tools and resources on the online SEM
Hub knowledge center, increased consensus on
common SEM standards, and improved regional
and national collaboration on SEM initiatives.
1. Enable Commercial and industrial customers to see value in SEM as a
strategy for meeting their sustainability and energy performance goals.
2. Enable greater development and use of high-value SEM tools and
resources by regional stakeholders to launch, grow, and sustain regional
SEM programs.
3. Leverage the SEM Hub Energy Management Assessment (EMA) tool
to measure baseline SEM practices and identify targeted savings
opportunities.
4. Build regional and national consensus on SEM as a best practice
or de facto standard.
TRAINING
Industrial Technical Training
(Special Project)
Industrial Technical Training infrastructure
provides coordinated technical training on key
industrial energy efficiency concepts to support
industrial energy efficiency programs and build
market capacity to implement industrial energy
efficiency projects.
1. Build industrial energy efficiency awareness
and technical capacity among the region’s industrial
end-users.
2. Achieve economies of scale for providing industrial energy efficiency
training in support of alliance programs.
Figure 11: Enabling Infrastructure
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 64
STRATEGY 3: CODES AND STANDARDS
Description: Building energy codes set minimum
efficiency requirements for residential and
commercial buildings for the design, materials
and equipment used in new construction and
major renovations. Energy codes present a
unique opportunity to assure savings through
efficient building design, technologies, and
construction practices in a cost-effective way.
The alliance supports regional stakeholders in
energy code development and adoption, training
and implementation, as well as assessing code
compliance.
Appliance and equipment standards specify the
minimum energy and/or water efficiency levels of
specific products including major home appliances
such as clothes washers and water heaters,
commercial and industrial equipment, and HVAC
equipment such as gas furnaces. Equipment
standards are set by U.S. DOE through a public
rulemaking process. NEEA staff serve as technical
experts and providers of data in U.S. DOE’s
rulemakings to encourage the adoption of federal
appliance and equipment efficiency standards.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving Codes and Standards Focus
1. The codes and standards landscape has
evolved substantially over the course of
the current business plan. The current
federal administration has set aside U.S.
DOE’s federal standards and test and rating
procedure rulemakings for an undetermined
period. In response, the standards community
has turned to state and regional forums to
further this work. New partnerships will enable
the development of new, more effective test
and rating procedures that can be used in
voluntary programs to promote the best-
performing equipment and systems, while
demonstrating the changes needed in federal
procedures
to be pursued in later rulemakings.
2. Codes and standards continue to be one
the most cost-efficient ways to ensure
adoption of efficiency measures and provide
significant benefits to the consumers. The
alliance will continue to work with emerging
technologies, utility programs and market
research to develop roadmaps and long-
term goals for advancing efficient codes and
standards through strategic partnerships,
such as with the Canadian Standards
Association (CSA) and the Pacific Coast
Collaborative.
Objectives
1. Influence the development of and support for successful implementation of building energy codes in the region.
2. Continue to advance the equipment efficiency
standards and improve the test rating
methods and procedures.
Success Metrics
1. Count of new code proposals reducing regional natual gas energy intensity that are adopted each year.
2. Count of new product standards which reduce
regional natual gas energy intensity that are
adopted each year.
Key Activities to Provide Value to the Region
With its extensive background in product
technologies of many types, and a growing catalog
of field data, the alliance can be a leader in these
collaborative efforts to advance progressively
more efficient codes and standards. Several of
the alliance programs and utility programs can
leverage the new test and rating procedures to
advance regional efficiency work. Later, this work
can be leveraged to upgrade federal procedures.
Natural Gas Portfolio | 65
In the codes realm, the region has seen some notable achievements in energy code enhancement, especially in Washington State. The adoption of new codes in all four states demonstrates the regional progress in constructing better buildings and acknowledges steady improvement in building and system technologies. Post-adoption education, training and technical support to local jurisdictions support high compliance rates that, in turn, optimize building performance and realize energy savings in a cost-effective way. Specific activities the alliance implements to support these efforts include:
1. Developing and supporting energy code development in individual states. In Idaho, this requires supporting code proposals in the national model code through the International Energy Conservation Code process. In Oregon and Washington, this means supporting code proposals in their respective state-specific code processes through the Washington Department of Commerce and the Oregon Department of Energy.
2. Providing codes education, training and technical support to individual states which will support the implementation of codes and achieve energy savings in buildings.
3. Supporting the new test methods on products and systems including packaged commercial HVAC equipment.
4. Participating in the U.S. DOE equipment standards and test procedures rulemaking process by providing technical input, testing and market data and analysis.
5. Collaborating with Emerging Technology,
utility programs and market research to
develop roadmaps and long-term goals for
advancing codes and standards through
strategic partnerships, such as the Canadian
Standards Association and the Pacific Code
Collaborative.
6. Working with Consumer Technology Association, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, U.S. DOE and state and local agencies to standardize requirements governing open standard protocols for flexible demand functionality as an integral component of efficient products and buildings.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 66
STRATEGY 4: CONVENE AND COLLABORATE
Description: Alliance convene and collaborate
activities are overseen by the Stakeholder Relations
and Corporate Communications functions at
NEEA. They include internal and external activities
that support effective and transparent regional
collaboration and market transformation programs.
NEEA staff work closely with the Natural Gas
Advisory Committee (NGAC), whose purpose is to
provide NEEA with broad-based advice, experience
and guidance. The committee works to reach
consensus on the prioritization and advancement of
market transformation natural gas programs to help
steer the alliance’s work toward achievement of its
strategic goals, priorities and objectives.
This committee is a management advisory
committee, providing support to the work of
NEEA managers and other staff in its program
development and implementation responsibilities.
Assumptions Driving Convene and Collaborate Activities
1. The Natural Gas Advisory Committee guides and informs program design and market strategies.
2. Board committees provide oversight and
governance of the organization. There are currently five standing Board committees,
including a Natural Gas Committee.
3. Funders and stakeholders require communication and coordination on the plans for and results of alliance work through formal and informal channels.
4. NEEA staff must have adequate understanding of funder and key stakeholder business needs and how they relate to alliance programs to effectively and efficiently design and execute the alliance’s portfolio of work.
5. Market partners and supply chain actors must understand the alliance and the value it brings them for successful execution of market transformation programs.
6. Regional collaboration (both online and in-person) drives market transformation success and brings value to funders and stakeholders.
7. Facilitation of regional collaboration is required to achieve regional strategic goals identified by funders and stakeholders.
Objectives
1. Ensure all alliance stakeholders are heard and
their viewpoints continuously inform alliance
work as it evolves by following established
Rules of Engagement (see Strategy 6:
Optimized Resource Allocation).
2. Convene the region to enable regional energy efficiency work that reflect the diverse needs of the region.
3. Bolster the alliance’s market influence to
maximize support for market transformation
efforts.
4. Support organizational development and effectiveness of NEEA staff in understanding funder and regional business needs.
Success Metric
Positive funder and stakeholder satisfaction:
Measure and maintain strong funder and
stakeholder satisfaction through an annual
satisfaction survey and regular funder and
stakeholder engagements.
Key Activities to Provide Value to the Region
1. Board of Directors, Board Committee,
and Advisory Committee meeting
facilitation to foster:
a. Regional input and conversations that drive alliance work in ways that complement funders’ and alliance programs.
Natural Gas Portfolio | 67
b. Board of Director leadership, oversight
and governance of and advocacy for the
organization, and contributions of insight
and other support and value.
c. Collaboration between market actors, researchers, funders and industry leaders to understand technology and market trends, opportunities and pitfalls as well as advance energy efficiency opportunities.
2. Funder Account Management to understand
and convene discussion on funder and regional
perspectives on alliance initiatives, ensure
funder coordination plans are implemented
throughout every stage of the Initiative Lifecycle
Process (see Operations Efficiency section) and
that funders have the information and resources
needed to collaborate effectively in alliance
work.
3. External Communications that increase supply chain understanding of the alliance and the value it can provide market partners through NEEA’s corporate website, program communications materials and other strategic communications, including those related to Strategic and Business Planning. Corporate Communications supports market
transformation programs through recognition and celebration of market partner success and participation in alliance programs.
4. Efficiency Exchange Conference to provide a
forum for knowledge-sharing to help regional
energy efficiency professionals achieve their
goals as well as networking opportunities. The
Efficiency Exchange Conference is an event
provided for the benefit of staff from funding
and stakeholder organizations.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 68
STRATEGY 5: MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Description: Market Intelligence (MI) is defined
as the systematic and objective identification,
collection, analysis and dissemination of data,
information and insight for assisting decision
making to advance and report progress of
energy efficiency and market transformation. This
description covers work in evaluation, research,
regional studies, planning and
market trend analysis.
Assumptions Driving Market Intelligence Focus
1. Market Research and Evaluation:
a. The region will continue to value independent evaluations of all programs.
b. The number and complexity of programs
will continue to increase over time.
c. The demand for information gathered through Market Research will continue to increase to support adaptive management and continual improvement on programs.
2. Large-scale Data Collection and Analyses
Studies:
a. The region will continue to value the Residential Building Stock Assessment (RBSA) and Commercial Building Stock Assessment (CBSA). This will be the first cycle that gas funding supports the stock assessments.
b. The depth and number of codes that will be
necessary to evaluate will increase.
c. Large-scale data collection and analysis studies will require the same level of stakeholder engagement.
d. A lack of awareness of existing data has
led to expensive duplication of research,
and enabling direct access to regionally-
specific energy efficiency data would help
streamline and enhance regional energy
efficiency efforts.
e. There is an emerging need for a Multi-
Family Stock Assessment. Multi-family
buildings make up a large and increasing
share of new construction in the region,
with nearly a third (31%) of commercial
building floor area since 2013 happening
in these building types, including an
increasing portion in Idaho and Montana.
(This assumption applies to a potential
Special Project.)
3. Market Planning:
a. The region will continue to value the
alliance’s work to analyze, estimate,
document, report and forecast the potential
energy savings and other value metrics
associated with the market transformation
efforts of each measure and for the full
portfolio, in accordance with current energy
savings accounting practices.
b. Funders will continue to require reporting and forecast needs as is currently done.
c. Measure levels are increasing in complexity
and volume. Alliance electric measures
have grown from 80 measures in 2014 to
a current volume in 2018 of 170+, and
have expanded to address both electric and
natural gas efficiency. The alliance expects
the size and complexity of its portfolio to remain at this current level, if not increase due to the system integration overlap complexity of future measure work.
4. Marketplace Trend Analytics:
a. Many of the data sets, tools and capabilities NEEA has organized for Marketplace Trend Analytics are done cost effectively, leveraging NEEA’s nonprofit status.
b. Findings from the RBSA will continue
to identify opportunities for improved
performance and identify gaps in regional
energy efficiency efforts.
Objectives
1. Ensure valuable and defensible evaluation, market progress tracking and savings accounting and estimating to assess results from market transformation efforts.
2. Provide research and market intelligence that
lends value to program and business planning
needs for internal and external partners.
3. Maintain data collection and housing best practices.
Natural Gas Portfolio | 69
Success Metrics
1. Actionable Information: Evaluations that
provide valuable inputs for program planning
and validated assumptions for best accuracy
of savings and other value reporting.
2. Customer Service: Meet individual funder needs for savings forecasting, reporting and other data or market intelligence needs in a timely, accurate manner.
3. Actionable Data: Increased and/or
comprehensive access to data, data
infrastructure, and analytics necessary to
strategically influence the market toward
measurable transformation.
Key Activities
Through the MI work, NEEA enhances decision
making and mitigates risk for the region for
current programs, as well as for the next
generation of resource planning and programs.
When done on a regional scale, this work provides
substantial economies of scale. Specific MI
activities that support the alliance’s market
transformation work include:
1. Market Research and Evaluation to inform market transformation efforts as well as formal evaluations of programs in market development. When possible, the alliance leverages secondary research first to inform program efforts. Primary market research in both quantitative and qualitative forms is used when secondary research is unavailable or inadequate for regional needs. Primary research provides:
a. Insight into potential target market sizing and segmentation;
b. Market characterization efforts;
c. Baseline estimates that project adoption of energy-efficient products, services and practices; and
d. Independent, third-party evaluations to
assess the impact or processes of alliance-
funded programs.
2. Market Planning to support the organization with analytical expertise responsible for forecasting and reporting cost effective, energy savings, and other value metrics. The department develops and manages cost effectiveness models, defensible methodologies to measure the effects of market interventions and other valuation tools to support alliance programs at various stages of the market transformation initiative’s lifecycle. Market Planning is also responsible for the portfolio management system to ensure that the alliance is on track to meet its business plan goals.
3. Marketplace Trend Analytics delivers research
findings to alliance programs and regional
stakeholders to assist in their strategic
decision-making. NEEA creates, purchases,
and compiles gigabytes of regional data
to answer business questions through the
blending of data sets. These analyses may be
as simple as targeting households based on
structure and demographic data for a single
program
or as complex as identifying representative
census blocks for building stock analysis
research in the Northwest.

Other Market Intelligence activities that support
alliance and regional energy efficiency efforts
include large-scale data collection and analysis
studies, including:
1. Regional Building Stock Assessments (Commercial & Residential) that characterize the existing building stock to account for regional differences such as climate, building practices and fuel choices. The residential assessment will focus on single family homes. The commercial stock assessment will be scoped and started in this 2020-2024 Business Plan and will be concluded early in the next business cycle (2024-2029).
2. Multi-Family Dwelling Stock Assessment Study
(Special Project) To accurately characterize
the Multi-Family Dwelling Unit building stock,
sample design and data collection protocols
need to be different
from single family residential buildings
and commercial buildings. By performing
a Multi-Family Building Stock Assessment,
the alliance will have a better understanding
of the market that will support new energy
efficiency opportunities.
Operations Efficiency | 70
T
OPERATIONS EFFICIENCYOPERATIONSEFFICIENCY
Operations Efficiency I 70
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 72
OPERATIONS
GOAL:
Continuously improve organizational
culture and performance efficacy, ensure
accountability and transparency, and
strive for innovation in service to the
benefit of all stakeholders.
Key Operations Strategies
1. Optimized Resource Allocation:
Engage funders and other qualified
advisors to identify, develop, and
sustain a portfolio of efficiency-
enabling initiatives and activities
that are consistent with the
alliance’s purpose.
2. Prioritization Standards: Establish Board-determined policies to assure equitable allocation and appropriate prioritization of efforts.
The alliance has established a framework of
collaboration, portfolio management processes,
and internal staff organization that all work in
combination to support this goal and related
strategies.
STRATEGY 6: OPTIMIZED RESOURCE ALLOCATION
Description: The Northwest has a rich history
of successful collaboration in energy efficiency.
Collaboration continues to be a central part
of how the alliance advances regional market
transformation.
NEEA takes a Complementary Approach14 in its
work, supporting utilities’ local program activities
which, in turn, support regional work. NEEA
recognizes the importance of the utility/customer
relationships, and focuses on efforts that reduce
and/or remove market barriers, primarily upstream
and midstream and on readiness of market
transforming energy efficiency for best overall
value and sustained market change.
Objectives
1. Comply with processes and policies outlined in the Activities, Processes and Policies section.
2. Solicit feedback and continuously improve
processes in consultation and collaboration
with NEEA’s Board governance process.
Success Metrics
1. Full compliance with processes and policies
as outlined to support NEEA’s Complementary
Approach.
2. Process updates identified and or implemented that best reflect feedback solicited for continuous improvement of the Complementary Approach.
Activities, Process and Policies
1. Advisory Committees and Workgroups
NEEA facilitates a set of advisory committees
and working groups focused on specific
functions, industry sectors or programs to
develop and sustain its market transformation
portfolio. Working closely with the
stakeholder and funder staff on each of these
committees, NEEA staff solicits input on
the market transformation theory and design
associated with each initiative early in the
process, to collaboratively design, plan and
coordinate the market transformation strategy
and implementation activities. This ongoing
collaboration helps the alliance better leverage
resources, add complementary value and
avoid redundancies or conflicts between local
and regional efforts.
14. As defined in the Key Terms: The alliance supports utilities’
local program activities and, in turn, local program activities
support regional work. NEEA recognizes the importance of
the utility/customer relationships, and focuses on efforts that
reduce and/or remove market barriers, primarily upstream
and midstream and on readiness of market transforming
Energy Efficiency for best overall value and sustained market
change.
Operations Efficiency | 73
T
Between 2020-2024 the alliance will focus on ways to streamline the advisory committee and workgroup process while focusing regional collaboration opportunities on areas that maximize alliance goals and address critical decision-making topics. One such topic is marketing and how those activities are developed and coordinated. The Guiding Principles for Downstream Marketing Activities, outlined in Appendix 9, describe how the alliance will coordinate and fund execution of regional marketing campaigns directed at end-use customers.
2. Funder Coordination
The alliance provides detailed business
case documentation for each program to
support ongoing collaboration with Regional
Portfolio Advisory Committee (RPAC), Natural
Gas Advisory Committee (NGAC) and other
advisory committee members. This business
case documentation helps ensure the alliance
invests in and operates programs with long-
term goals that support funder goals and
efforts.

Key components of the business case
include: progress and findings to date;
planned activities for the next stage;
investment rationale and proposed budget,
including estimated energy savings; market
transformation theory, including market drivers,
barriers and intervention strategies;
a Funder Coordination Plan and detailed roles
and responsibilities to clarify expectations
for funders and for NEEA staff regarding the
execution of and coordination on key program
activities.

In addition to this process, there is a formal
intervention process (i.e. the challenge flag),
which allows funders to request changes and
improvements if a funder believes a program
is heading in a direction contrary to that which
was agreed upon.
3. Standard Rules of Engagement Across all its work, NEEA staff acts in accordance with the following rules of engagement:
a. NEEA will develop a local/regional Funder
Coordination Plan and clearly defined roles
and responsibilities in collaboration with
funders as part of the program business
case prior to each milestone decision;
b. NEEA will not engage with market actors in a funding utilities’ territory without approval as detailed in the approved program business case;
c. NEEA will not engage with or market
directly to utility customers unless the
activities are approved as part of the
program business case; and
d. NEEA will ask local utilities to work with NEEA staff to identify potential areas of overlap with local market actors early in initiative planning/design to avoid conflict/surprises.

NEEA’s overall objective is to facilitate a high level of input and consensus, without increasing complexity or time needed to meet market transformation goals. NEEA staff is committed to continuous improvement and will seek to: streamline processes; use and exercise sound project/program management practices; and adapt as conditions change moving forward.
4. Initiative Lifecycle (ILC)
NEEA has established a portfolio management
system which provides a clear framework for
decision-making on market transformation
program investments. Through NGAC and
RPAC, NEEA staff actively manage the
portfolio of electric market transformation
activities to deliver value based on a range of
criteria, including: energy savings; levelized
cost of energy saved; regional equity; rural/
urban equity; and risk.
Each program within the alliance’s market
transformation portfolio goes through a
consistent stage-gate development process
called the Initiative Lifecycle, illustrated below
in Figure 12.

Figure 12: Alliance Initiative Lifecycle
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 74
At two stages of this Initiative Lifecycle, a formal vote by the RPAC or NGAC is taken for any market transformation program to advance. These two key decision points are: 1) prior to an initiative being adopted into the alliance market transformation program portfolio (i.e., Initiative Start); and 2) prior to an initiative being approved to scale-up its market activities (i.e., Scale-up Approval).
5. Portfolio Management Practices:
NEEA staff manages the portfolio to a set of
portfolio metrics, developed by RPAC, that are
used to assess the health of the overall electric
program portfolio, including: short- and long-
term savings; long-term equity factors; and
short-term risk factors (detailed below). The
purpose of these metrics is to provide visibility
into the nature of the regional investment
portfolio and guide investment decisions.
The NGAC manages portfolio-level decisions
for the natural gas market transformation
portfolio, and has input into dual-fuel program
milestones.
Within the market transformation portfolio,
NEEA staff evaluates five risk factors for each
of its programs:
a. Unproven market: If engaging in an unfamiliar market, may have limited established relationships or information.
b. Unproven technology: If working with
technology that has not been proven
in other markets or applications,
will technology be a big disruptor to
behavior expectations.

c. Late life savings: Will the market transformation be a long, slow ramp and so the majority of savings potential is in the outer years.
d. Measurability: Will the data access or
savings measurability be a challenge or
straightforward.
e. Cost-effectiveness: If there is a clear path to cost-effectiveness or is there risk, large barriers such as price, or future growth that might affect cost effectiveness.
Staff assess each program against these five risk factors and assign a risk score for each factor. Each program and the entire portfolio, is aggregated based on these five factors. These factors are reassessed and re-scored with each initiative milestone to reflect program progress on risk mitigation and identify any persistent concerns within these five factors.
STRATEGY 7: PRIORITIZATION STANDARDS
Description: NEEA acts as a careful steward of
utility customer funds and recognizes that it is
ultimately entrusted with delivering value to those
customers on behalf of the utility. As such, NEEA
adheres to carefully crafted Board-determined
policies to assure equitable allocation and
appropriate prioritization of resources and efforts.
Objectives
1. Adhere to NEEA Board governance structure and policies.
2. Deliver an annual Operations Plan to NEEA’s
Board for approval that aligns with the
approved 2020–2024 Business and Strategic
Plans and outlines material deviations.
3. Track and manage major organizational risks.
Success Metrics
1. Board satisfaction with communication and
engagement plans relating to operations planning,
fiscal position and risk/response plans.
2. Board satisfaction with governance structure; policies are clear, accessible and adhered to.
3. NEEA Scorecard metrics within acceptable
range, and risk mitigation plans in place for
high risk areas.
Operations Efficiency | 75
T
Activities, Process and Policies
1. Board of Directors Governance The alliance regularly engages its Board and other qualified advisors to identify, develop, and sustain a portfolio of efficiency-enabling initiatives that support funders’ needs and are consistent with NEEA’s purpose. NEEA is governed by a Board of Directors, comprised of energy experts from Northwest utilities, public interest groups, government and other organizations. The Board and Board committees provide overall guidance for the organization and oversee NEEA’s organizational direction, budget, and progress. At the beginning of each five-year business cycle, the Board leads the process of identifying the starting portfolio of programs and activities. NEEA staff will report variances or updates on progress against the five-year business plan in each annual Operations Plan for Board review and approval.
2. Operations Planning Within its own operations, NEEA is committed to careful stewardship of the organizational resources it deploys to achieve regional energy efficiency goals cost-effectively. The organization maintains a high level of rigor in analytical processes including: portfolio management; development, delivery and evaluation of programs; contractor management; and budget and expenditure controls. Staff provide visibility to organizational assets and results to ensure that an investment in the alliance is in the best interest of the region. NEEA conducts an annual financial audit and the Executive Director presents a quarterly scorecard of portfolio performance based upon success metrics identified in the Business Plan.
NEEA’s Board of Directors approves the annual
Operations Plan and budget, which outlines
key organizational and program strategies,
performance metrics and milestones and
provides input to management systems
to ensure delivery of the annual goals and
objectives.
3. Organizational Risk Management Policies The alliance ensures that external and internal risks to the organization and business are reviewed, updated and communicated regularly. Risk management practices are integrated throughout the organizational structure and quarterly risk review and reporting processes are in place to ensure mitigation strategies progress appropriately. Examples of existing risk management processes and policies include:
a. An annual financial audit by a third party;
b. Commercial insurance coverage including general liability and umbrella coverage, management liability package, property, workers’ compensation, cyber liability, etc;
c. Quarterly review of defined organizational
risks by designated risk owners. The
executive team reviews summary
information of mitigations that are outside
of established tolerance and responds
appropriately; and
d. Legal and contractual risk and due diligence practices and guidelines are in place for potential higher risk contracts and activities.
4. Organizational Efficiency As part of its stewardship practices, NEEA actively looks to create efficiencies within its work to save time and costs, while achieving expected results. The Product Groups approach outlined in this Business Plan is an example of how the alliance has maximized efficiencies in the way it delivers value to the region by looking at leverage points across sectors and product categories. Platforms, which leverage resources, data and strategic partnerships across an entire sector or set of programs like with the Retail Platform or the Distributor Platform, also provide efficiencies. And, through creating an internal Market Intelligence function, the alliance provides valuable services and financial savings each year by providing and analyzing stock assessment-related data, scraping existing data from websites and funneling to programs via platforms, as well as supporting more targeted and efficient outreach throughout the alliance’s market research and evaluation efforts. This analytical work is many times repurposed across multiple programs, maximizing its value to the region.
Value Metrics: Market Progress and Energy Savings | 76
T
VALUE METRICS: MARKET PROGRESS AND ENERGY SAVINGS
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 78
Value metrics measure a portion of the value that the alliance will deliver to the region as a result of the work outlined in the 2020-2024 Business Plan. The proposed scorecards in Figures 13-16 include metrics that are a balanced reflection of the progress and achievements from the Business Plan’s Transformation activities. The scorecard also includes metrics NEEA will be validating and monitoring to ensure efficient and effective portfolio execution and operations.
In addition to the organizational value metrics, success metrics are used by NEEA staff to track progress toward market or business objectives and help the alliance prioritize activities at an initiative level for each annual operations plan. These success metrics are listed throughout the seven strategies in the business plan and will be tracked on a quarterly and annual basis.
The metrics highlighted in Figures 13-14 are designed to focus on business and organizational management and achievement at the regional level. Additional energy savings detail that is estimated and reported at the funder level will be managed and reported separately, as designed and required by each individual funder. As a result, metrics such as Net Market Effects (on the Market baseline) and Remaining Savings (on the Power Plan reporting baseline) will be not be included in the scorecard in Figure 13.
Funding Cycle Energy Savings
and Other Targets and Metrics
1. 5-year savings (electric):115-152 aMW of Co-
Created Savings and 360-500 aMW of Total
Regional electric energy savings within the
2020-2024 funding cycle.
2. 10-year savings (electric): 210-300 aMW of Co-Created Savings and 650-930 aMW of Total Regional Savings between 2020-2029. This includes savings from previous and current investment funding.
3. 5-year savings (gas): 11-18 million Therms of
Total Regional Savings between
2020-2024.

4. 10-year savings (gas): 14-34 million Therms of Total Regional Savings between 2020-2029.
5. 5-year (electric) Capacity savings: 155-278
MWp of total 5-year regional peak capacity
electric savings across summer and winter.
6. 5-year (electric) Carbon Reduction: 419,000-554,000 Tons of avoided CO215
15. Peak Capacity Savings and Avoided Carbon Emissions are
tracked to identify additional value derived from energy
efficiency work, but have no associated goal or target.
Value Metrics: Market Progress and Energy Savings | 79
T
Portfolio Advancement Total energy savings potential (20-year regional technical
potential) of new emerging technologies advanced into the
alliance’s development portfolio (to pass Initiative Start
milestone) over the 5-year business cycle.
5-year Target
600 aMW
Report Only
Therms
Market Advancement Total energy savings potential (20-year total regional market
potential) of emerging technologies readied for full market
development (to pass Scale Up milestone) over the 5-year
business cycle.
5-year Target
175 aMW
Report Only
Therms
Energy Savings16 Estimated Total Regional and Co-Created Savings for the
portfolio for a 5-year horizon.
5-year Targets:
115-152 Co-Created aMW
360-500 Total Regional aMW
5-year Target:
11-18 million Total Regional
Therms17
Long-term Market
Availability
Total energy savings potential that the alliance has enabled
in the region (This metric is the total 20-year forecast energy
savings estimate of all programs in Market Development and
Long-Term Monitoring and Tracking phases).
5-year Target
>600 aMW
Report Only
Therms
Figure 13: Market Transformation Development Metrics Scorecard
These metrics measure the sustainability of the alliance’s energy efficiency portfolio and market transformation efforts that lead to long-term energy savings
delivery to the region.
16. Energy savings is a lagging indicator and realization of the sustained market change resulting from market transformation efforts. Savings represent all investment cycles. Energy savings resulting from this
investment cycle will continue beyond the 5-year reporting horizon. NEEA will provide those longer-term savings in its reporting.
17. Total regional savings are all savings occurring from the pre-intervention starting point of the market. Estimates will be refined continuously as initiatives mature. Co-created savings will be determined for
these programs in the 2020-2024 Business Plan. The natural gas savings NEEA reports will be reflective of only natural gas funder territories.
NEEA FUNDING CYCLE TARGETS
MARKET TRANSFORMATION DEVELOPMENT METRICS
CATEGORY DESCRIPTION FUEL REPORTING
Electric Natural Gas
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 80
Figure 14: Operational Metrics Scorecard
Operational metrics monitors internal business operations and effectiveness in delivering Market Transformation Development metrics.
Total Budget Management Total annual alliance investment expenditures Target (set annually)Target (set annually)
Administrative Budget
Management
Administrative expenses as percentage of total expenditures Target % of total <18%n/a
Employee Retention Annual employee retention rate Target % of total ≥88%
Benefit – Cost Ratio The portfolio-level measurement of the 20-year value of the
regional investment in market transformation from a total
resource cost perspective.
Target ≥1 Target ≥1
Portfolio Investment
Levelized Cost
The portfolio-level measurement of the 20-year value
of the regional investment in market transformation,
Total Resource Cost perspective.
Report Only
Cents per kWh
Report Only
Cents per Therm
NEEA OPERATIONAL METRICS
INDICATORS OF OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS AND HEALTH
CATEGORY DESCRIPTION FUEL REPORTING
Electric Natural Gas
Value Metrics: Market Progress and Energy Savings | 81
T
Other Metrics
Figure 15: Validation Metrics
Validation of achievements that indicate success and forward progress in Market Transformation efforts.
Figure 16: Additional Benefits
Reports additional benefits to the region that are derived from the alliance’s energy efficiency efforts.
Codes and Standards
Engagement for Long-term
Energy Savings
Estimated Total Regional Savings and related % of
regional load that will be served with new test procedures,
specifications, and/or locked in with a Federal or State
building code or manufacturing standard over a 20-year
planning horizon.
Forecast and Report
aMW,
% total MW load
Report Only
Therms
n/a
Private Sector
Co-Investment
Estimated dollar investment in advancing regional market
transformation made by market actors (i.e. manufacturers,
trade allies, retailers).
Report only
$USD
Report only
$USD
NEEA VALIDATION METRICS
INDICATORS OF MARKET TRANSFORMATION HEALTH AND VALUE CREATION
CATEGORY DESCRIPTION FUEL REPORTING
Electric Natural Gas
Avoided Carbon Emissions Annual achieved and 5-year estimated regional avoided
carbon emissions associated with the total Co-Created
savings forecast.
Forecast and Report
Tons CO2
Forecast and Report
Tons CO2
Capacity Savings18 Annual achieved 5- and 10-year regional capacity savings
as a result of the total Co-Created savings.
Forecast and Report
MWp
N/A
NEEA ADDITIONAL BENEFITS
ADDITIONAL VALUE DELIVERED FOR WHICH NEEA WILL FORECAST AND REPORT ONLY
CATEGORY DESCRIPTION FUEL REPORTING
Electric Natural Gas
18. NEEA measures peak capacity savings consistent with the Northwest Power and Conservation Council methodology as reduction in regional power system peak loads. Local utility system capacity
savings will likely vary.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 82
Target: NEEA staff will set an explicit target for this value metric at the start of the Business Plan (or at the start of the year for annual budget management).
Forecast: For this cycle, NEEA staff will establish a forecast of this metric at the start of the cycle, and update the forecasted value as the cycle progresses.
Report Only: Represents low ability to assess this value at this time. NEEA staff will report on the value created for this metric through the business cycle.
Additional Value Metrics Work
During this Business Planning period, NEEA staff
will continue to work with the Board of Directors
on value metrics that best reflect regional work
in market transformation. Lastly, NEEA staff
recognize that there is additional value delivered
at a Product Group level that does not aggregate
clearly to either a portfolio or organizational
level. For example, NEEA works in the supply
chain in areas such as securing manufacturer
commitments and developing new capabilities
of trade allies. Measurement of these activities
demonstrates value at each Product Group
level rather than an aggregated value across the
portfolio of investments. NEEA staff will manage
such metrics through annual operations planning
activities and reporting to ensure successful
delivery on the associated Business Plan activities
for 2020–2024.
Operations and Budget | 84
T
OPERATIONS AND BUDGET OPERATIONS AND BUDGET
Operations and Budget I 84
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 85
AdministrationBusiness Administration focuses on the people, processes, and technology required by NEEA staff to effectively execute on the Business Plan goals. NEEA operates based on the strength of the human capital of the alliance–both NEEA staff and staff at funding and stakeholder organizations that collaborate to deliver on regional results. Having the right people, in the right place, at the right time allows the alliance to maximize results and be nimble with regional resources. Efficient, streamlined, and compliant processes allow NEEA as an organization to operate with proficiency and focus efforts on market transformation work. Technology right sized to needs enables business value with increased productivity, collaboration flexibility, quicker decision making, and business reliability. Activities within the Business Administration function include:
1. Information Technology
2. Finance and Accounting
3. Contracts
4. Human Resources
5. Legal and Risk Management
6. Facilities Management
All parts of the organization work cross-
functionally to drive and support market
transformation efforts in service to the region.
Budget For the past 21 years, both public and investor-owned utilities in the Northwest have funded the alliance. Although the details have varied slightly over this time, the basic approach has been proportional funding based on each participant’s share of the overall regional power system. The philosophy behind this approach is that all utilities receive long-term benefits–both from local energy savings and from the regional benefit of reduced demand on the power system.
In addition to the base funding provided by NEEA’s funders, there may be additional activities or opportunities to advance the alliance’s purpose that emerge throughout the course of the business plan from other sources of funding. NEEA has established business processes to segregate and account for additional funding and will ensure additional, special projects are reviewed by the Board through NEEA’s New Strategic Opportunities Screening and Review Guidelines.
This business plan outlines a 5-year budget broken out by strategies outlined in NEEA’s 2020–2024 Strategic Plan. The proportion of funding attributed to each year will be reviewed and approved as part of NEEA’s annual operations planning process. A sample budget for 2020, the first year of the cycle, is provided.
Operations and Budget | 86
T
Figure 17: Total 5-Year Budget by Primary Strategy ($ Thousands)
PRIMARY STRATEGIES (DIRECT COSTS AND SALARY & BENEFITS)ELECTRIC NATURAL GAS EULR19 TOTAL % OF BUDGET
Emerging Technology
Routinely scan for, assess, and report on the potential for newly identified efficiency
products, services, and practices and test the field performance of the most promising
opportunities. Includes scanning and product management.
$14,516 $1,401 $15,917 8.5%
Effective Portfolio Execution20
Implement the prioritized portfolio of initiatives, routinely evaluate progress,
and adapt as necessary to achieve accelerated and sustained market adoption.
Includes existing and new programs, including program implementation,
marketing, planning, market research, evaluation, market intelligence, as well
as codes and standards activities directly associated with specific programs.
$89,642 $12,001 $101,643 54.1%
Codes & Standards
Influence development and support successful implementation of building codes
and equipment efficiency standards and test methods to materially improve
efficiency outcomes. Includes work that crosses multiple programs.
$16,455 $363 $16,818 9%
Market Intelligence
Research, analyze and provide actionable insight to support identification
and pursuit of efficiency opportunities and results reporting. Includes market
research, evaluation, planning and market intelligence work that crosses
multiple programs.
$8,378 $1,186 $8,884 $18,448 9.8%
19. End Use Load Research is a special project.
20. All marketing costs are in the Business Plan budget. The Guiding Principles for Downstream Marketing Activities, outlined in Appendix 9, will determine how the alliance will coordinate and implement exe-
cution options for implementing and funding regional marketing campaigns directed at end-use customers.
PRIMARY STRATEGIES (DIRECT COSTS AND SALARY & BENEFITS)ELECTRIC NATURAL GAS EULR19 TOTAL % OF BUDGET
Convene and Collaborate (Shared Services)
Selectively support dialogue and coordinate activities
among stakeholders interested in accelerating
efficiency through market transformation in the
Northwest. Includes facilitation associated
with the Stakeholder Relations and Corporate
Communications functions.
$9,740 $9,740 5.2%
Administration (Shared Services)
The people, processes, and technology to support
effective execution to the Business Plan. Includes IT,
contracting, finance, accounting, legal and human
resources.
$24,871 $300 $72 $25,243 13.4%
Allocation of Shared Services21 (4,252)$3,677 $575
Sub-Total Shared Services $30,359 $3,977 $647 $34,983 18.6%
SUB-TOTAL NEEA CORE ACTIVITIES $159,350 $18,928 $9,531 $187,809 100%
Special Projects22 TBD TBD TBD
TOTAL ALL NEEA ACTIVITIES $159,350 $18,928 $9,531 $187,809 100%
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 87
Figure 17: Total 5-Year Budget by Primary Strategy ($ Thousands) - Continued
PRIMARY STRATEGIES (DIRECT COSTS AND SALARY & BENEFITS)ELECTRIC NATURAL GAS EULR19 TOTAL % OF BUDGET
Convene and Collaborate (Shared Services)
Selectively support dialogue and coordinate activities
among stakeholders interested in accelerating
efficiency through market transformation in the
Northwest. Includes facilitation associated
with the Stakeholder Relations and Corporate
Communications functions.
$9,740 $9,740 5.2%
Administration (Shared Services)
The people, processes, and technology to support
effective execution to the Business Plan. Includes IT,
contracting, finance, accounting, legal and human
resources.
$24,871 $300 $72 $25,243 13.4%
Allocation of Shared Services21 (4,252)$3,677 $575
Sub-Total Shared Services $30,359 $3,977 $647 $34,983 18.6%
SUB-TOTAL NEEA CORE ACTIVITIES $159,350 $18,928 $9,531 $187,809 100%
Special Projects22 TBD TBD TBD
TOTAL ALL NEEA ACTIVITIES $159,350 $18,928 $9,531 $187,809 100%
21. All of the Shared Services costs are incurred within the electric budget with End Use Load Research and Natural Gas reimbursing Electric for its allocation of Shared Services staff/labor, building space
usage and supplies.
22. Special Projects approved for the alliance to pursue as part of this Business Plan include investment in a Multi-Family Dwelling Stock Assessment, Strategic Energy Management and Industrial Techni-
cal Training Enabling Infrastructure. See Electric Portfolio section and the Natural Gas portfolio section for more information. Additional opportunities described in this plan for the Board to consider include
“Accelerating and Increasing Flexible Demand Resources in Baseline Efficient Products” and “Integrated Energy Storage in Equipment and Buildings.” See the Business Opportunities Beyond the Plan:
Special projects section for more information on these opportunities.
Operations and Budget | 88
T
Figure 18: 2020 Budget by Primary Strategy and Product Groups ($ Thousands)
PRIMARY STRATEGIES EXPENSE TYPE ELECTRIC NATURAL GAS EULR TOTAL % OF BUDGET
Emerging Technology Labor and G&A $1,426 $10 $1,436 3.7%
Emerging Technology Direct $1,452 $270 $1,722 4.4%
Effective Portfolio Execution Labor and G&A $5,248 $757 $6,005 15.4%
Building Envelope Direct $291 $291 0.8%
Consumer Products Direct $3,333 $3,333 8.6%
HVAC Direct $1,890 $475 $2,365 6.1%
Lighting Direct $1,500 $1,500 3.8%
Motor-Driven Systems Direct $1,151 $1,151 2.9%
New Construction Direct $634 $485 $1,119 2.9%
Water Heating Direct $2,717 $925 $3,642 9.4%
Enabling Infrastructure Direct $1,318 $1,318 3.4%
LTM&T
Not Assigned to a Program
Direct $375 $375 1.0%
Codes & Standards Labor and G&A $924 $31 $955 2.4%
Codes & Standards Direct $2,380 $40 $2,420 6.2%
PRIMARY STRATEGIES EXPENSE TYPE ELECTRIC NATURAL GAS EULR TOTAL % OF BUDGET
Market Intelligence Labor and G&A $986 $84 $268 $1,338 3.4%
Market Intelligence Direct $170 $144 $2,970 $3,284 8.4%
SUB-TOTAL CORE PROGRAM ACTIVITIES $25,792 $3,221 $3,238 $32,251 82.9%
Convene and Collaborate
(Shared Services)
Labor and G&A $1,591 $1,591 4.1%
Convene and Collaborate
(Shared Services)
Direct $298 $298 0.8%
Administration
(Shared Services)
Labor $2,578 $2,578 6.6%
Administration
(Shared Services)
Direct $2,116 $60 $14 $2,190 5.6%
Allocation of Shared Services $(850) $735 $115
Sub-Total Shared Services $5,733 $795 $129 $6,657 17.1%
TOTAL CORE ACTIVITIES $31,526 $4,016 $3,367 $38,908 100%
Special Projects TBD TBD TBD
TOTAL ALL ACTIVITIES $31,526 $4,016 $3,367 $38,908 100%
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 89
Figure 18: 2020 Budget by Primary Strategy and Product Groups ($ Thousands) - Continued
PRIMARY STRATEGIES EXPENSE TYPE ELECTRIC NATURAL GAS EULR TOTAL % OF BUDGET
Market Intelligence Labor and G&A $986 $84 $268 $1,338 3.4%
Market Intelligence Direct $170 $144 $2,970 $3,284 8.4%
SUB-TOTAL CORE PROGRAM ACTIVITIES $25,792 $3,221 $3,238 $32,251 82.9%
Convene and Collaborate
(Shared Services)
Labor and G&A $1,591 $1,591 4.1%
Convene and Collaborate
(Shared Services)
Direct $298 $298 0.8%
Administration
(Shared Services)
Labor $2,578 $2,578 6.6%
Administration
(Shared Services)
Direct $2,116 $60 $14 $2,190 5.6%
Allocation of Shared Services $(850) $735 $115
Sub-Total Shared Services $5,733 $795 $129 $6,657 17.1%
TOTAL CORE ACTIVITIES $31,526 $4,016 $3,367 $38,908 100%
Special Projects TBD TBD TBD
TOTAL ALL ACTIVITIES $31,526 $4,016 $3,367 $38,908 100%
Operations and Budget | 90
T
Figure 19: 2020 Electric Effective Portfolio Execution Budget by Sector ($ Thousands)
Figure 20: 2020 Functional Expenses ($ Thousands)
EXPENSE TYPE 2020 BUDGET % OF BUDGET
Effective Portfolio Execution Labor and G&A $5,248 28%
Residential Direct $7,579 41%
Commercial Direct $2,735 15%
Industrial & Agriculture Direct $1,201 7%
Enabling Infrastructure Direct $1,318 7%
LTM&T Not Assigned to a Program Direct $375 2%
TOTAL $18,455 100%
ELECTRIC NATURAL GAS EULR TOTAL
Salary and Benefits $11,433 $882 $268 $12,583
G&A
Professional Services $817 $10 - $827
Equipment & Software $414 - - $414
Travel & Professional Development $712 $50 $14 $776
Corporate Communications $298 - - $298
Depreciation $274 - - $274
Facilities & Other $168 $736 $115 $1,019
Project Expenses $17,409 $2,339 $2,970 $22,718
TOTAL FUNCTIONAL EXPENSES $31,525 $4,017 $3,367 $38,909
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 91
Risk and Challenges NEEA’s success depends on several factors that may fluctuate within a rapidly-changing environment. There are significant risks inherent in these factors, which could impact NEEA’s ability to achieve its strategic goals and fulfill its purpose.
Risks that NEEA has plans to mitigate:
Funding: The loss of one funder can create a
domino effect resulting in an organization that
does not have the leverage required for market
transformation. Loss of funder(s) can also create
inequity and issues of free ridership across the
region. Funding could be in jeopardy if:
1. NEEA does not achieve its goals;
2. NEEA fails to deliver on its commitments
cost-effectively;
3. NEEA is perceived by funders as not providing additional value; and/or,
4. NEEA does not equitably distribute benefits
across the region (i.e., urban/rural).
NEEA mitigates this risk by clearly defining and
delivering value to funders and by maintaining
open, meaningful channels of communication to
resolve issues and maximize the alliance’s impact.
Different Approaches to Market Transformation: Other parts of the country, including California, Illinois and New York, are actively investigating market transformation. Different approaches by large players in these states could create market confusion and lack of effective market influence for the Northwest.
NEEA mitigates this risk by establishing and maintaining relationships with key players in other geographies to influence and collaborate on market transformation programs.
Risks outside of NEEA’s control that cannot be easily mitigated:
There are many ongoing risk factors in the market that are beyond NEEA’s sphere of influence, including pressure for utilities to limit rate increases, combined with low load growth and potentially declining avoided costs. Other such risks include:
1. Regulatory or governing body decisions that
end or curtail investments in efficiency;
2. Events or conditions that lead to a significant contraction of the economy;
3. Federal government that is less active, or
reduces funding for federal standards; and/or
4. Significant changes or disintermediation that shift energy efficiency away from utilities.
NEEA regularly monitors activity and developments in the industry to identify potential impacts, and will work through its Board of Directors on specific mitigation, as the need arises. Additionally, NEEA staff uses these analyses to determine proactive mitigation strategies as part of its annual Operations Plan to ensure the alliance has options ready to address market shifts.
Business Opportunities Beyond The Plan: Special Projects | 92
T
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND THE PLAN: SPECIAL PROJECTS
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 93
In the process of developing this Business Plan there were some opportunities not pursued; unfunded by the full regional alliance but not without value to some. And, subsets of regional parties as well as extra-regional entities have expressed interest in additional opportunities beyond those identified in the core plan. In the current 2015-2019 business cycle, several of these types of activities are already funded separately from the current Business Plan, the End Use Load Research (EULR) project is such an example.
Special projects are those, like EULR, that exist outside the core-funded market transformation activities in the Business Plan. Special projects must advance the purpose of the organization and adhere to the boundaries in the Strategic Plan. Three special projects: Commercial and Industrial Strategic Energy Management (C+I SEM), Industrial Technical Training (ITT) and the Multi-family Building Stock Assessment (MFBSA) are considered complementary to the core-funded activities in the plan and were developed with prospective budgets that are detailed in this Business Plan. The following two prospective special projects, focused on demand management - an area outside of core-funding, will need further discussions with interested parties to better understand prospective scope and level of effort required.
New Special Project Opportunities in Demand
ManagementSection 2 of the Emerging Technology Boundary Condition in the 2020-2024 Strategcic Plan details areas of opportunity the alliance can explore in the 2020-2024 Business Plan where energy efficiency isn’t the only driving benefit. According to the Strategic Plan Boundary Conditions, these opportunities fall under the category of special projects since the focus of
the work may extend beyond energy efficiency. NEEA has outlined two such opportunities and the potential role the alliance could serve with each. These opportunities are available for interested parties and will be considered and may be funded separately from core funded activities in the Business Plan.
As an example, for the past two decades, the alliance has focused its work on accelerating adoption of energy efficiency in support of the region’s needs for energy resources. But the needs of the Northwest power system are changing, and capacity is now more of a near-term need than energy in many areas. The 7th Power Plan included a goal of acquiring 600 MW of demand response resources to help the Northwest meet its need for capacity. This goal was limited by availability of traditional demand response programs. Since the 7th Plan, new advancements in technology have the potential to significantly increase the size and availability of these resources, and flexible demand and energy efficiency are both benefiting from advances in communication, controls and data collection technologies. As it has in energy efficiency, the alliance could play a significant role in helping the region accelerate adoption of new technologies in end-use devices that would enable a more flexible, efficient operation of the electric system. Since the technologies and interventions are largely common, the alliance could provide this value for significantly less cost than multiple, independent efforts.
Assumptions Driving New Special Project
Opportunities in Demand Management
1. Capacity is an increasingly important value:
Capacity to support both regional and local
electric system reliability is now becoming a
significant and potentially larger need than
energy. Considering the near future, this
need will likely increase as large amounts of
traditional generating resources are expected
to be retired from the system. While energy
efficiency provides a significant, fixed
capacity benefit to the system, the need
for additional capacity from dispatchable
demand that can respond to the needs of the
electric system is becoming more apparent.
2. Increasing need for flexibility in demand:
Increasing amounts of variable-output
resources are making it harder for system
operators to balance supply and demand.
Flexibility in timing and use of energy to
accommodate the variability of energy
production will be increasingly important as
more variable output resources are added
to the grid. Energy storage on the customer
side of the meter that can efficiently and
flexibly support variable energy supply will be
an important component of a more flexible
electric system.
3. Accelerating technology advancement in sensors, controls and communications is creating new opportunities for aggregated flexible demand resources behind the meter: Accelerating developments in technology continue to lower the cost and increase the efficiency of sensors, controls and communications. These developments support the ability to aggregate and control a multitude of smaller end-use loads into significant flexible capacity resources.
Business Opportunities Beyond The Plan: Special Projects | 94
T
SPECIAL PROJECT NEW OPPORTUNITY 1: ACCELERATING AND INCREASING FLEXIBLE DEMAND RESOURCES IN BASELINE EFFICIENT PRODUCTS
As the alliance works to transform markets
for energy-efficient products, services and
practices, there will still be significant market
share and sales of products that are not efficient.
These areas represent a lost opportunity for both
energy efficiency and flexible demand. For some
of these products, the incremental effort to get
a flexible, demand-enabled device is much lower
than for a highly efficient product. For example,
HPWHs are still only 10% of regional sales,
meaning that 90% of purchases are neither
efficient nor enabled for flexible demand. These
electric resistance water heaters could include
demand management controls at the time of
manufacture for significantly less incremental cost
than a HPWH. Market transformation practices
could be used to accelerate adoption
of demand management capability in all products
sold into the region.
Barriers to Adoption
1. Lack of market demand: Unlike energy efficiency, manufacturers do not perceive any consumer demand for adding these features and have little or no motivation to spend additional resources to make them capable.

2. Lack of agreement on standards and specifications: Manufacturers do not perceive that the utility industry has aligned on a common specification for communications protocols or command structures. They are reluctant to make changes in their products if they feel that they cannot sell these products to a large enough market to make it worth the effort.
Role for NEEA
1. NEEA can serve as an aggregator of
regional utility demand for these products.
2. NEEA can leverage its existing strategic partnerships with manufacturers, codes and standards organizations and supply chain market to standardize and accelerate the adoption of flexible, demand-enabled features into baseline-efficient products.
Funding Model Support for accelerating the adoption of flexible, demand-enabled technologies would be provided through special funding models.
Example: Flexible Demand Electric Resistance
Water Heating. This proposed program would
influence electric water heaters (including
conventional electric resistance water heaters) to
include controls and communications capability
that enables full participation as flexible demand
resources. That includes the ability to shed load
or to store excess renewable energy as needed
to optimize grid operations without affecting
consumer experience. This capability,
if embedded as a standard feature in all water
heaters, would build a 250 MW flexible, demand-
enabled resource for the region through the
natural replacements of water heaters that fail
every year.
4. Manufacturers are using sensors and controls to establish proprietary relationships with their customers: Google, Amazon, and Apple’s home management systems have the potential to provide valuable information on how home owners use energy and unique methods to lower or shift energy use. Utilities may be able to meet their capacity and storage needs using services provided by these and many other companies, but the costs will likely be higher and the customer experience will be difficult to manage. An opportunity exists while standards are being developed to support open approaches that reduce complexity and increase value to the overall market.
Role of Market Transformation: Market transformation principles and practices can be applied to accelerate the adoption of new technologies that will enable increased flexibility in electricity demand on the customer side of the meter. If successful, the application of market transformation to these opportunities should accelerate adoption, reduce societal cost, and increase capacity for the system.
Role of NEEA: NEEA’s core competencies in market transformation and existing partnerships with manufacturers, distributors and decision makers provide a highly-leveraged opportunity to accelerate adoption of new technologies and practices that will support a more flexible system. By leveraging existing energy efficiency market transformation work, NEEA can help the region capture these flexible demand opportunities at the lowest possible cost.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 95
SPECIAL PROJECT NEW OPPORTUNITY 2: INTEGRATED ENERGY STORAGE IN EQUIPMENT AND BUILDINGS
As the need for more flexibility in the electric
system grows, additional energy storage becomes
necessary with larger shifts in timing of energy
usage from the system. There are significant
opportunities to incorporate incremental energy
storage components into both equipment and
buildings. However, these efforts come at a cost
in energy use–due to losses between the charging
and discharging cycles–that doesn’t reflect as
energy efficiency for the end-customer.
Barriers to Adoption
1. Lack of market demand: Unlike energy efficiency, manufacturers do not perceive any consumer demand for adding these features and have little or no motivation to spend additional resources to make them capable.
2. Lack of agreement on standards and
specifications: Manufacturers perceive that the
utility industry has not aligned on a common
specification for communications protocols
or command structures. They are reluctant to
make changes in their products without being
able to sell these products to a large enough
market to make it worth the effort.
Role for NEEA
1. NEEA can aggregate regional utility interest in these features and work with manufacturers to make these changes that will enable devices to be capable of being exercised as storage resources.
2. NEEA can work with standard-setting
organizations, utilities and manufacturers to
move toward common technical specifications
that the industry can adopt, resulting in
economies of scale.
Funding Model
Support for acceleration of integrated energy
storage would be provided through special funding
models.
Examples:
1. Enhanced Thermal Storage in Buildings:
By far one of the cheapest forms of integrated
energy storage is using hot or cold-water tanks
that can then serve heating or cooling needs.
These technologies are not new, and costs for
large-scale storage are relatively inexpensive.
If these tanks are incorporated into the design
or specifications at the time of manufacture or
new construction for buildings, they can
be even less expensive.
2. Electric Storage: With the dramatic reduction in the cost of batteries, it is now possible to integrate some form of electric energy storage into systems and buildings in ways that increase power system flexibility as well as resiliency. Many buildings already require battery back-up for emergency lighting and critical services. These systems could be expanded to cover more end-uses, and be connected as grid resources to support flexible capacity needs for the electric system.
| 96
NEEA’S APPROACH TO MARKET TRANSFORMATIONAPPENDICES
Appendices
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 98
APPENDIX 1:
ELECTRIC PROGRAMS:
PRODUCT GROUPS
BUILDING ENVELOPE
Market Description: Includes the supply chain
that manufactures, distributes and sells the physical separator between the interior and
exterior of a building (a.k.a. the building envelope), which includes walls, fenestration and roofs and
end-consumers who purchase them. NEEA’s current focus is on window products, such as
secondary glazing systems (SGS), low-e storm windows (LES), shades and blinds within the
commercial sector.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving the Market Transformation Opportunity
1. New product standards and labels for window attachment products will continue to create opportunity for differentiation and awareness of more efficient product options in the market.
2. National efforts for window attachment product certification and labeling will help address market barriers of product availability, differentiation, and awareness for the region.
3. Future opportunities for other window attachment products, including films and shades, exist.
Long-Term Market Transformation Objectives
1. Increase availability of certified and labeled window attachment products.
2. Drive awareness and sales of high-performing, energy-efficient window attachment products, initially focusing on SGS and LES.
3. Create market transformation opportunities for other window attachment products, such as films and shades.
Success Metrics
1. Increased adoption rates of labeled window
attachment products.
2. Greater market insights to support program strategy and utility customer engagement.
3. Increased measures and products to support
funder program opportunities.
Market Engagement and Activities
1. Engage with manufacturers and distributors to shift Northwest sales mix toward more efficient products.
2. Partner with industry associations, such as
Attachments Energy Rating Council (AERC),
on product labeling and broad-based energy
efficiency education for distributors, installers
and customers.
3. Engage others in large markets, such as Northeast and California utilities, to support AERC and increase product availability to reduce costs for the benefit of the Northwest.
4. Leverage Distributor Platform and Retail
Platform to access midstream channel
distribution of labeled products, simplify
participation and analyze full category sales data.
5. Engage with U.S. DOE to increase federal standards over time.
PRIOR INVESTMENTS BEING LEVERAGED CURRENT PROGRAMS EXAMPLES OF EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES
N/A Window Attachments: secondary
glazing systems, low-e storm
windows
Other window attachments including cellular
shades, blinds, and surface applied films.
High performance primary windows
using alternative internal glazing (thin
glass / suspended films) to maintain high
performance without added weight and size.
Dynamic glazing that adjusts to varying solar
conditions while preserving visibility.
Lower cost high performance wall systems
for new construction or retrofit applications.
Appendix 1 - Electric Programs: Product Groups | 99
Building Envelope Product Portfolio

Why NEEA?
1. NEEA has established relationships with codes and standards bodies, industry associations and
manufacturers that can influence national efforts and labeling and increase product availability and
market adoption in the Northwest.
2. The market for energy-efficient window attachments is still nascent in the Northwest, and awareness of window attachment products as an alternative to primary window replacement is very low. A region-wide effort, supported by new product certification and labeling, can help cost-effectively reach this market.
Prior Alliance Accomplishments
to Build Upon
1. Building on prior initiative and scanning work,
NEEA identified a market transformation
opportunity for high-performing, energy-
efficient window attachments as an alternative
to higher cost, primary window replacement.
NEEA is developing a Window Attachments
program, focused initially on SGS and LES
windows. Currently, these products have low
market adoption in the region due to low
awareness, lack of product differentiation, and
limited product availability.
2. Since 2017, NEEA has partnered with AERC, as well as the EPA and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, to develop new certification and labeling procedures and supply the market with new product labels. AERC and ENERGY STAR labels exist for low-e storm windows and labels are in progress for secondary glazing systems. NEEA also supports AERC to recruit manufacturers to label their products.
PRIOR INVESTMENTS BEING LEVERAGED CURRENT PROGRAMS EXAMPLES OF EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES
N/A Window Attachments: secondary
glazing systems, low-e storm
windows
Other window attachments including cellular
shades, blinds, and surface applied films.
High performance primary windows
using alternative internal glazing (thin
glass / suspended films) to maintain high
performance without added weight and size.
Dynamic glazing that adjusts to varying solar
conditions while preserving visibility.
Lower cost high performance wall systems
for new construction or retrofit applications.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 100
CONSUMER PRODUCTS
Market Description: Includes the entire supply
chain, including manufacturers, distributors,
retailers—physical and online—contractors
and installers that deliver consumer goods and
services in high volume as well as end consumers
who purchase them.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving the Market Transformation Opportunity
1. This market will continue to represent 361 aMW of technical potential.23
2. Faster commercialization of energy-efficient
consumer products will be required to
continue to drive purchases that currently
result in 80 million individual products sold
through this channel, representing annual
energy consumption of roughly 500 aMW.
3. New standards and labels will result in increased federal standards sometime between 2025-2030. These include clothes dryers, clothes washers, refrigerators, freezers and room air conditioners.
4. Consumers will continue to have easy access
to vast amounts of online product information,
resulting in more people deciding what to
purchase before (or if) they ever enter a store.
This presents an opportunity and imperative
to educate and influence consumers online.
The online channel is allowing market actors in the retail channel who currently compete in the traditional products-only model to expand into installation and services businesses (i.e. Amazon Professional Services, HomeAdvisor.com, etc.). This shift will bring price transparency and increase competition with the distribution channel. This will allow the alliance to leverage its supply chain engagement and training expertise to influence these new market actors.
Long-Term Market Transformation Objectives
1. Improve U.S. DOE or EPA test protocols
so that they accurately reflect real-world
conditions and energy savings.
2. Influence on ENERGY STAR specifications or federal standard updates.
Success Metrics
1. Increases or improvements to federal
standards or ENERGY STAR specifications.
2. Energy savings based on increased market share of efficient products.
Market Engagement and Activities
1. Work with national retailers (physical and
online) to capture sales data that helps the
alliance understand the market and leverage
retailers’ position in market to influence
manufacturers and consumers for the benefit
of regional and local programs.
2. Partner with industry associations such as the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) to understand market barriers to increasing energy-efficiency potential of consumer products.
3. Increase market influence with scale by
partnering with extra-regional energy
efficiency sponsors in California, Canada, and
other program sponsors across the U.S.
4. Provide the EPA and U.S. DOE with data-driven recommendations on voluntary specifications, federal standards and testing procedures for consumer products.
23. According to the Northwest Power and Conservation
Council’s 7th Power Plan.
PRIOR INVESTMENTS BEING LEVERAGED CURRENT PROGRAMS EXAMPLES OF EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES
Clothes Washers Retail Product Portfolio (RPP)Opportunities for efficiency improvements in
top-loading clothes washers (laundry) may
be explored as part of RPP, or in conjunction
with the alliance’s Super-Efficient Dryers
initiative.
TVs Super-Efficient Dryers 4k TVs offer an opportunity to re-engage
with the TV market.
Dishwashers Smart T-Stats offer an opportunity for
regional alignment and leverage.
Refrigerators Connected Home will be monitored closely.
Electric vehicle charging equipment in buildings
is a growing market with substantial efficiency
and flexible demand savings.
Appendix 1 - Electric Programs: Product Groups | 101
Consumer Products Product Portfolio

Why NEEA?
1. NEEA has strong relationships with retailers and manufacturers at the national level, allowing the alliance to leverage its regional scale to bring additional, cost-effective value to the Northwest.
2. The Retail Product Portfolio brings full-category sales data that supports the federal standards process, increasing the data resolution and increasing the speed of availability.
3. NEEA brings the expertise and market relationships required to support and influence these government organizations to ensure Northwest consumers benefit from standard updates.
Prior Alliance Accomplishments
to Build Upon
1. NEEA worked with ENERGY STAR to drive
higher specifications and encouraged state
and federal energy standards for energy-
efficient televisions, while increasing the
availability of energy-efficient TV’s on retail
shelves. From 2010-2014, this effort resulted
in savings of 42.7 aMW beyond what would
have occurred naturally in the market without
intervention.
2. The Retail Platform launched in 2014 and has resulted in deeper relationships with strategic national retailers and extra-regional partners, and provided access to full category sales data to help inform program opportunities for the alliance. It has also given the region greater influence on the ENERGY STAR specification process.
3. The Super-Efficient Dryer initiative has been
successful in supporting the introduction of
super-efficient dryer technology into the U.S.
market from multiple manufacturers.
PRIOR INVESTMENTS BEING LEVERAGED CURRENT PROGRAMS EXAMPLES OF EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES
Clothes Washers Retail Product Portfolio (RPP)Opportunities for efficiency improvements in
top-loading clothes washers (laundry) may
be explored as part of RPP, or in conjunction
with the alliance’s Super-Efficient Dryers
initiative.
TVs Super-Efficient Dryers 4k TVs offer an opportunity to re-engage
with the TV market.
Dishwashers Smart T-Stats offer an opportunity for
regional alignment and leverage.
Refrigerators Connected Home will be monitored closely.
Electric vehicle charging equipment in buildings
is a growing market with substantial efficiency
and flexible demand savings.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 102
HVAC
Market Description: Includes the supply chain
that manufactures, distributes, specifies, designs
and installs commercial and residential HVAC
products and end consumers who purchase them.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving the Market Transformation Opportunity
1. The HVAC market is not currently optimized around cost and resiliency.
2. There is substantial opportunity to support
an integrated approach to the HVAC market
that includes efficiency, intelligence, and use
of refrigerants in its value proposition and
market transformation goals.
3. Savings opportunities exist from market adoption of smart thermostats, multi-head ductless heat pumps (DHPs), sophisticated controls and other technology developments.
Long-Term Market Transformation Objectives
1. Transform the market so that unitary, inverter-
driven, variable speed heat pumps (VSHP) are
the affordable product of choice to replace
electric forced-air-furnaces in single-family site-
built and manufactured homes.
2. Increase skill level of Northwest specifiers and installers in identifying, designing, sizing and configuring the most efficient HVAC system for each application.
3. Transform the market so that Very High
Efficiency Dedicated Outside Air Systems
(VHE DOAS) are common practice in
applicable existing and new small to medium-
sized commercial buildings.
4. Influence the voluntary market to require VHE DOAS in International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), ID, MT, OR and WA commercial building code.
Success Metrics
1. Increased adoption of 1:1 displacement in
zonally heated single-family homes.
2. Increased conversions of single-family ducted electric furnaces to heat pump air handlers.
3. Heat pump technology represents the majority
of HVAC market share.
4. Increased awareness, acceptance, adoption and technology expertise by HVAC supply chain, including contractors, design build firms and engineering firms.
5. Increased VHE DOAS in conversions of existing
and specified into new commercial buildings.
6. New program opportunities for the region.

Market Engagement and Activities
1. Engage with manufacturers to test and rate all
heat pumps to the new procedure, encourage
additional high efficiency heat recovery
ventilation (HRV) product lines for VHE DOAS,
develop supply chain trainings to identify
the highest-efficiency application for their
technologies and improve control settings.
2. Partner with distributors to increase stocking, training and support for high efficiency HVAC technologies.
3. Engage with code and standard bodies to
advance adoption of new testing and rating
procedure and adopt increased efficiency
requirements.
PRIOR INVESTMENTS BEING LEVERAGED CURRENT PROGRAMS EXAMPLES OF EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES
Ductless Heat Pumps Variable capacity low temperature heat
pump technology common in ductless heat
pumps is moving to central HVAC systems.
Natural refrigerants are emerging and offer
increased low temperature performance and
greater efficiency.
High-Performance HVAC
(including VHE DOAS)
Advances in heat recovery systems are
resulting in innovation in HVAC design for
systems that separate heating / cooling
from ventilation including VRF and hydronic
systems.
Appendix 1 - Electric Programs: Product Groups | 103
HVAC Product Portfolio

Why NEEA?
1. The alliance has developed deep relationships with some of the largest HVAC manufacturers in the world and has opportunity to leverage these relationships to bring even greater benefit to the Northwest.
2. The alliance continues to foster innovative, new HVAC technologies in the Northwest. Ductless
Heat Pumps have seen tremendous market growth over the last decade due to successful market
interventions, and NEEA has been instrumental in bringing the components of Very High Efficiency
Dedicated Outside Air Systems (VHE DOAS) to market and piloting the technology.
3. As new technologies and applications are adopted by the market, NEEA can provide a regional quality assurance feedback loop (trainings, specifications and best practices development, etc.) among manufacturers, installers, utility program managers and homeowners to support efficient, energy saving results and positive customer experience to transform the market.
Prior Alliance Accomplishments
to Build Upon
1. The region has influenced more than
100,000 ductless heat pumps installed in the
Northwest.
2. More than 1,500 DHP installers have been oriented in the DHP program.
3. The alliance has worked with distributors in
the Northwest to invest in opening regional,
hands-on training centers to focus on the DHP
installation process.
4. The alliance supported the launch of the first high efficiency HRV product line to North America was launched, and flagship VHE DOAS pilot projects in the Northwest were brought to market.
5. DOAS was incorporated in WA code for
targeted building types which will lay the
groundwork for VHE DOAS in later cycles.
PRIOR INVESTMENTS BEING LEVERAGED CURRENT PROGRAMS EXAMPLES OF EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES
Ductless Heat Pumps Variable capacity low temperature heat
pump technology common in ductless heat
pumps is moving to central HVAC systems.
Natural refrigerants are emerging and offer
increased low temperature performance and
greater efficiency.
High-Performance HVAC
(including VHE DOAS)
Advances in heat recovery systems are
resulting in innovation in HVAC design for
systems that separate heating / cooling
from ventilation including VRF and hydronic
systems.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 104
LIGHTING
Market Description: Includes the supply chain
that manufactures, distributes, specifies, designs
and installs lighting products, including lamps,
ballasts, controls and fixtures as well as the end
consumers who purchase these products.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving the Market Transformation Opportunity
1. The region is generating significant lighting
savings due to prior investment in CFL and
reduced wattage fluorescent products, current
LED incentive programs and the popularity of
LEDs. However, upgrades to LEDs will only
capture part of the available energy savings.
2. Over a quarter of the potential savings will not be realized unless the region aggressively decreases hours of use with controls and increases luminaire efficacy.
Less than 25% of the region’s lighting load
employs automated controls – less than 1%
are advanced controls. Despite efforts to date,
the region continues to see slow adoption of
advanced controls. U.S. DOE forecasts that
it is technically feasible to double average
luminaire efficacy in the coming 10 years.

3. The ability to cost effectively influence LEDs and controls is limited due to the high cost of controls and a rising baseline, combined with falling prices of LED replacement lamps.
a. A primary objective of the Luminaire Level
Lighting Control (LLLC) initiative is to bring
down control costs so that programs can
more effectively drive LLLC adoption.
b. There is an opportunity to leverage the Distributor Platform as a low-cost method of influencing LED efficacy and quality, while continuing to capture savings for the region and freeing up program time and budget for customer engagement on more comprehensive projects.
Long-Term Market Transformation Objectives
1. Transform the market so that controls are
a standard fixture feature for little to no
additional cost.
2. Identify market transformation opportunities for advanced lighting control systems in space types not well suited for LLLC – retail is an especially significant opportunity. Also, identify efficiency opportunities for control systems that encompass lighting plus other building systems.
3. Identify market transformation opportunities
to drive the market toward higher efficacy
light sources. The Distributor Platform, as an
existing mechanism for influencing distributor
sales practices and tracking progress via sales
data, offers a crucial market lever for this
goal.

Success Metrics
1. Increased adoption of LLLC.
2. Increased average luminaire efficacy.
3. Growing pool of trade allies who can
support design and installation of advanced
lighting control systems.
4. Greater market insights to support program strategy and utility customer engagement.
5. New program opportunities for the region.
Market Engagement and Activities
1. Engage with manufacturers to increase availability of more luminaire and fixture types that meet LLLC specifications.
2. Partner with efficiency organizations, such as
the Department of Energy and Design Lights
Consortium, to increase availability of high
efficacy, high quality lighting.
3. Leverage the Distributor Platform to continue market engagement and data collection at low cost, which will allow the region to encourage greater efficacy, accurately track sales to understand market progress and inform future program strategy and interventions.
4. Engage with code and standard bodies to
advance codes–requiring lower lighting power
density and promoting efficacy.
PRIOR INVESTMENTS BEING LEVERAGED CURRENT PROGRAMS EXAMPLES OF EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES
Residential Lighting Luminaire Level
Lighting Controls
Advanced controls applications for space
types not served well by LLLC and for
multiple systems (lighting + HVAC, plug
load, etc.)
Reduced Wattage Lamp Replacement
Leverage the Distributor Platform as low
cost, far reaching mechanism to promote
efficacy and quality improvement in
commodity lighting products.
Post Energy Independence and Securities
Act (EISA) residential lighting opportunities.
Appendix 1 - Electric Programs: Product Groups | 105
Lighting Product Portfolio

Why NEEA?
1. New lighting controls technologies will continue to emerge at a rapid pace. Thanks to national manufacturer and regional distributor relationships and influence, NEEA is in a unique position to monitor and influence emerging products that bring greatest value to the Northwest. An especially important role is engaging nationally to work toward ubiquitous adoption of leading controls technologies, which will drive cost effectiveness of controls.
2. Lighting efficacy is likely to offer small per-lamp savings, but significant savings when aggregated
across the region over time. NEEA has a unique opportunity to engage in codes and standards
processes, and leverage regional Distributor Platform relationships and data to provide cost-effective
mechanisms to influence the market and capture these savings.
Prior Alliance Accomplishments
to Build Upon
1. The LLLC initiative laid the groundwork
for regional adoption and customer
engagement, playing a key role in developing
a specification, qualified product list and
deemed savings for an integrated lighting
controls product.
2. Alliance NXT Level and LLLC trainings are addressing key advanced control adoption barriers by raising awareness and skill level of the region’s trade allies.
3. Reduced Wattage Lamp Replacement (RWLR)
drove efficacy of fluorescents and established
the Distributor Platform, which can be
leveraged to continue to drive efficacy of LED
lamps and luminaires.
4. NEEA facilitated engagement with code developers, the Design Lights Consortium and Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE), all of which continue to raise the bar for luminaire quality and efficacy.
PRIOR INVESTMENTS BEING LEVERAGED CURRENT PROGRAMS EXAMPLES OF EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES
Residential Lighting Luminaire Level
Lighting Controls
Advanced controls applications for space
types not served well by LLLC and for
multiple systems (lighting + HVAC, plug
load, etc.)
Reduced Wattage Lamp Replacement
Leverage the Distributor Platform as low
cost, far reaching mechanism to promote
efficacy and quality improvement in
commodity lighting products.
Post Energy Independence and Securities
Act (EISA) residential lighting opportunities.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 106
MOTOR-DRIVEN PRODUCTS
Market Description: Includes the supply chain
that manufactures, distributes, specifies, designs
and installs a variety of motor-driven products
such as pumps, fans, compressed air systems and
high-performance motors, as well as the decision-
makers who influence the purchase of these
products.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving the Market Transformation Opportunity
1. Decisions on which product to select,
especially with small motor-driven products, are
not always given a lot of thought or engineering
support. Shifting those pump decisions toward
the most efficient options as a default choice
can save significant energy.
2. New voluntary standards and labels will result in an increased federal standard sometime between 2025-2030.
a. NEEA’s motor-driven products work
begins with circulator pumps and pumps
50 horsepower and below, but significant
future opportunities exist with fans
and compressors.
b. The Hydraulic Institutes’s Energy Rating Label enables pump decision makers to quickly identify energy efficiency differences between models.
Long-Term Market Transformation Objectives
1. Increase awareness, stocking and sales of
various efficient motor-driven products, initially
focusing on pumps.
2. Create market transformation opportunities for other motor-driven products, such as fans, compressed air systems and high-performance motors.
3. Support procurement practices and standards
to drive adoption of more efficient motor-driven
products with integrated controls.
4. Eliminate inefficient products by influencing future U.S. DOE rulemakings on Pumps, Fans, Compressed Air, and Motors.
Success Metrics
1. Adoption rates of labeled, packaged pumps
(includes motor, pump and control system sold
together)and other motor driven products.
2. New program opportunities for the region.
3. Continuous review and improvement
of U.S. DOE standards.
4. Market practices rely on Extended Motor Products (XMP) labeling to identify, specify and select products.
Market Engagement and Activities
1. Engage with manufacturers and distributors
to shift Northwest sales mix of motor-driven
products toward energy efficiency.
2. Partner with industry associations such as Hydraulic Institute (HI), Air Movement & Controls Association (AMCA), Compressed Air and Gas Institute (CAGI), and National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) on energy labeling programs and broad-based energy efficiency education for customers, installers, sales staff, and equipment specifiers.
3. Leverage the Distributor Platform to engage with
distributors as well as access and analyze-full
category sales data. This will help the region
identify additional barriers and opportunities.
4. Engage with the Department of Energy to increase federal standards over time.
5. Partner with others in large markets like
California, National Grid, Xcel Energy and others
to promote and influence XMP products and
labels to increase product availability and reduce
costs for the benefit of the Northwest.
PRIOR INVESTMENTS BEING LEVERAGED CURRENT PROGRAMS EXAMPLES OF EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES
Drive Power Extended Motor Products:
Pumps and circulator pumps up
to 50 hp
Other variable control motor driven products
including industrial fans / blowers and air
compressors.
New larger, cheaper and more efficient
brushless Motors are coming to market
thanks to electric vehicles.
Application of pumps and controls for pivot
systems could lower system pressures and
save water loss and energy.
Appendix 1 - Electric Programs: Product Groups | 107
Motor-Driven Products Product Portfolio

Why NEEA?
1. NEEA has strong relationships with trade associations across manufacturers and distribution channels, and can leverage the existing Distributor Platform infrastructure (see Midstream Channel Platform section), relationships and experience.
2. NEEA’s relationships with distributors and access to aggregated distributor sales data provide
unique market-level insights and inform standards development.
3. Motor-driven products are sold in high volume in the Northwest each year. Yet, only a fraction of these transactions are for the most efficient products. Focusing upstream and midstream to influence the sales of pumps, fans and other motor-driven products is a cost-effective way for the region to capture this opportunity.
Prior Alliance Accomplishments
to Build Upon
1. The U.S. DOE Rulemaking, covering 1 to 200
horsepower clean-water pumps, takes effect
in 2020 and increases efficiency of pumps
and packaged pumps at the lowest level of
performance.
2. The Hydraulic Institute, in collaboration with NEEA, developed the Pump Energy Rating label, test methodology, independent lab certification process, online database and energy performance calculation engine.
3. The U.S. DOE Rulemaking for circulator
pumps and fans is in progress, but not
yet enacted.
4. The Pump Efficiency Index (PEI) was developed collaboratively by the U.S. DOE, Hydraulic Institute, NEEA and industry.
PRIOR INVESTMENTS BEING LEVERAGED CURRENT PROGRAMS EXAMPLES OF EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES
Drive Power Extended Motor Products:
Pumps and circulator pumps up
to 50 hp
Other variable control motor driven products
including industrial fans / blowers and air
compressors.
New larger, cheaper and more efficient
brushless Motors are coming to market
thanks to electric vehicles.
Application of pumps and controls for pivot
systems could lower system pressures and
save water loss and energy.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 108
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Market Description: Includes the supply chain
that designs, builds, verifies and sells residential
single-family site built new homes, commercial
new construction and new manufactured homes
built to the NEEM 2.0 specification, as well as the
end consumers, of these products.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving the Market Transformation Opportunity
1. Greater insight is needed into what measures will be incorporated into code to inform utility and regional efficiency programs.
2. The market, utility incentive programs and
those developing, adopting and implementing
code are not always aligned on long-term code
goals.
3. Voluntary market adoption of efficient new construction practices leads code changes.
Long-Term Market Transformation Objectives
1. Increase commercial and residential new
construction code requirements to maximize
energy efficiency opportunities in new
buildings.
2. Increase market adoption of energy-efficient products and practices to inform and enable code advancements.
Success Metric
1. Increase in adoption of alliance-supported
code proposals.
Market Engagement and Activities
1. Partner with residential and commercial certification programs, Integrated Design Labs, and other industry associations to align technical specifications and increase the adoption of technology, practices and future code measures.
2. Leverage local policies and regional and national
trends toward “Net Zero Ready”
to create greater alignment between code, utility
programs and market practice.
3. Partner with national code stakeholders to influence International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).
PRIOR INVESTMENTS BEING LEVERAGED CURRENT PROGRAMS EXAMPLES OF EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES
Efficient Homes Initiative (Northwest ENERGY STAR Homes)
Next Step Homes
Manufactured Homes
Integration with alliance residential and
commercial programs (Ductless Heat Pump,
Heat Pump Water Heater, High Performance
HVAC, etc.)
Appendix 1 - Electric Programs: Product Groups | 109
New Construction Product Portfolio

Why NEEA?
1. NEEA actively supports code development and adoption in all four states and has existing
relationships with utilities and key code stakeholders that can be leveraged to create alignment on
long-term goals.
2. NEEA’s code work in all four Northwest states in addition to IECC can inform state code road maps, long-term goals, and utility program planning.

Prior Alliance Accomplishments to Build Upon
1. NEEA has collaborated widely with the region to develop and support energy code proposals in
individual states. The adoption of new codes in all four states reflects regional progress in building
better buildings and acknowledges steady improvement in building and system technologies.
2. 20.12 aMW and 20.35 Therm savings from 2010-2016 (including code savings).
3. NEEA-developed energy modeling systems which enabled whole home utility incentives.
4. RTF approval of an upper-tier new manufactured home specification (NEEM 2.0).
5. An established code collaborative in all four states to plan for upcoming code cycles and increased
coordination with the market, utilities and code stakeholders.
6. BetterBricks and BetterBuiltNW regional resources providing tools to support integrated design and above-code building strategies.
7. Established partnerships with Integrated Design Labs in all Northwest states.
PRIOR INVESTMENTS BEING LEVERAGED CURRENT PROGRAMS EXAMPLES OF EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES
Efficient Homes Initiative (Northwest ENERGY STAR Homes)
Next Step Homes
Manufactured Homes
Integration with alliance residential and
commercial programs (Ductless Heat Pump,
Heat Pump Water Heater, High Performance
HVAC, etc.)
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 110
WATER HEATING
Market Description: Includes all tank type
electric water heaters, including the supply chain
that manufactures, distributes (wholesale and
retail), specifies, designs and installs commercial
water heaters and end consumers who purchases
these products.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving the Market Transformation Opportunity
1. The 7th Power Plan potential identifies 600 aMW of 20-year savings potential for water heating.
2. NAECA Standard revision set for 2025 which
will influence all water heater efficiency
requirements.
Long-Term Market Transformation Objectives
1. Support the adoption and integration of the Consumer Technology Association communication protocol CTA 2045 as standard practice across all heat pump water heaters supplied to the Northwest.
2. Contribute to a 2023 federal standard requiring
all electric water heaters be heat pump water
heaters.

Success Metrics
1. More national utilities offer HPWH programs,
which will increase supply chain support
and reduce technology and product costs,
ensuring greater product availability for
Northwest customers and reducing costs for
end-customers and Northwest utilities.
2. Sustainable communities promote HPWH technology.
3. All HPWH are CTA 2045 demand response
ready.
4. ENERGY STAR aligns with Advanced Water Heater Specification (AWHS).
5. New program opportunities for the region are
created.
Market Engagement and Activities
1. Engage with national and global
manufacturers to reduce costs, increase
efficiency, increase awareness of HPWH
product, and support Northwest consumer
needs such as performance in the Northwest
climate zones.
2. Partner with industry associations to support adoption of the Advanced Water Heater Specification (AWHS).
3. Leverage the alliance’s consumer and lab
research to increase HPWH sales nationally,
increasing supply chain support and reducing
technology and product costs. This will ensure
greater product availability and reduced costs
for Northwest customers.
4. Engage with U.S. DOE to improve test procedures and support National Appliance Energy Conservation Act (NAECA) updates.
5. Work with manufacturers and standards
organizations to develop appropriate standards
for flexible demand management and
integrate into energy-efficient HPWHs
as a standard feature.
Appendix 1 - Electric Programs: Product Groups | 111
Water Heating Product Portfolio
Why NEEA?
1. The alliance has developed deep relationships with the three largest water heater manufacturers in the U.S. and has the opportunity to leverage these relationships to bring even greater benefit to the Northwest.
2. NEEA is positioned to build awareness of efficient water heating technologies across the region,
building consumer demand to accelerate adoption.
3. Water heating distributors have locations spread across NEEA’s entire region. NEEA has built relationships at the corporate level of these companies that can be leveraged for the benefit of the alliance and their consumers.
Prior Alliance Accomplishments
to Build Upon
1. More than 30,000 residential electric heat
pump water heaters sold in the region.
2. National Appliance and Energy Conservation Act (NAECA) requiring all >55 gallon electric water heaters to use heat pump water heater technology.
3. The introduction of Tier 3 HPWH by the three
largest water heater manufacturers.
4. The adoption by national partners, such as CEE, of the alliance’s Advanced Water Heater Specification (AWHS).
PRIOR INVESTMENTS BEING LEVERAGED CURRENT PROGRAMS EXAMPLES OF EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES
HPWH Commercial Water Heating offers an
additional manufacturer leverage point and
regional savings opportunity.
Split System HPWH Leverage existing manufacturer relationships
to enable out-of-the-box demand response /
load shifting / storage capabilities in water
heating equipment.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 112
APPENDIX 2:
NATURAL GAS PROGRAMS
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Market Description: Includes the supply chain
that designs, builds, verifies and sells residential
single-family site built new homes. This program
leverages the work and resources of the alliance’s
established, electric Next Step Homes program.
Initiative: Next Step Homes
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving the Market Transformation Opportunity
1. Greater insight is needed into what measures will be incorporated into code to inform utility and regional efficiency programs.
2. The market, utility incentive programs and
those developing, adopting and implementing
code are not always aligned on long-term code
goals.
3. Voluntary market adoption of efficient new construction practices leads code changes.
Long-Term Market Transformation Objectives
1. Enable advancement of residential new
construction code requirements to maximize
energy efficiency opportunities in new
buildings.
2. Engage developers and builders to incorporate advanced energy-efficient products and practices in new residential buildings.
3. Increase market adoption of energy-efficient
products and practices to inform and enable
code advancements.

Success Metrics
1. Increased adoption of alliance-supported code proposals.
2. New utility programs align with code road
map.
3. Increased utility/market actor participation in code collaborative meetings and activities.
4. Increased market share of above code
specifications and certification program
participation.
Market Engagement and Activities
1. Engage with residential home builders, home energy raters, and code stakeholders to refine the value proposition for energy-efficient new construction buildings.
2. Partner with residential and commercial
certification programs, Integrated Design
Labs, and other industry associations to align
technical specifications and increase the
adoption of technology, practices and future
code measures.
3. Leverage local policies and regional and national trends toward net zero building practices to create greater alignment between code, utility programs and market practice in a way that is inclusive of natural gas.
4. Engage with HUD and key code stakeholders
to support code increases for manufactured
homes over time.
5. Partner with national code stakeholders to influence International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and HUD requirements and implementation.
Appendix 2 - Natural Gas Programs | 113
Why NEEA?
1. NEEA actively supports code development
and adoption in all four Northwest states
and has existing relationships with utilities
and key code stakeholders, such as the
Washington Department of Commerce and
the Oregon Department of Energy, that can
be leveraged to create alignment on long-
term goals.
2. NEEA’s code work with the Northwest states and IECC can inform state code road maps, long-term goals and utility program planning.
Prior Alliance Accomplishments
to Build Upon
1. NEEA has collaborated widely with the region
to develop and support energy code proposals
in individual states. The adoption of new
codes in the Northwest reflects regional
progress in building better buildings and
acknowledges steady improvement in building
and system technologies.
2. Savings of 20.12 aMW and 20.35 million of
annual therms from 2010-2016 (including
code savings).
3. NEEA-developed platforms which utilize
energy modeling to enable whole home utility
programs and incentives.
4. An established code collaborative in each state to plan for upcoming code cycles and increased coordination with the market, utilities, and code stakeholders.
5. BetterBricks and BetterBuiltNW regional resources providing tools to support integrated design and above code building strategies.
6. Established partnerships with Integrated
Design Labs.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 114
WATER HEATING
Market Description: Includes the supply chain
that manufactures, distributes (wholesale and
retail), specifies, designs and installs residential
gas-fired water heaters and the consumers who
purchase these products.
Program: Efficient Gas Water Heaters (GHPWH)
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving the Market Transformation Opportunity
1. The 2015-2019 Natural Gas Business Plan
indicated a significant market for this product
in the Northwest (1.7 million customers)
and a high long-term savings potential (over
100 million annual Therms) in the Northwest
during a 20-year period.
2. There has been minimal innovation around gas water heating technology, especially when viewed in comparison to electric water heating.
3. Near-term savings may be possible by
increasing adoption of currently available or
newly developed efficient gas water heating
products.
4. Gas heat pump water heaters (GHPWH), with the potential to be twice as efficient as baseline products, are under development with broad product commercialization estimated for 2020–2025.
5. Opportunities to influence federal standards
are expected in 2030.
Market Transformation Objectives
1. Transform the residential gas water heating
market; ultimately making gas heat pump
water heaters the standard in gas water
heating appliances.
2. Influence federal manufacturing standards for residential storage gas water heaters to require a Uniform Energy Factor >1 for units larger than 35 gallons by 2030.
Success Metrics
1. Launch of commercialized GHPWH.
2. Multiple GHPWH products on market.
3. Regional and national utility programs
supporting EGWH, increasing supply chain
support and reducing technology and
product costs, which will help ensure greater
product availability for Northwest customers
and reduce costs for end-customers and
Northwest utilities.
Market Engagement and Activities
1. Collaborate with the supply chain to accelerate adoption of currently available EGWH.
2. Engage with national and global
manufacturers driving development,
commercialization and launch of GHPWH
while also supporting Northwest needs such
as performance in Northwest climate zones,
informed and capable installer base and
locally stocked product.
3. Advance lab and field testing to validate product performance, durability and customer acceptance while providing regular updates on objectives, milestone achievement and co-funding participation.
4. Partner with market actors, U.S. DOE, Consortium for Energy Efficiency, utilities and other energy efficency organizations to support adoption of the Advanced Water Heater Specification (AWHS) and/or improved test procedures associated to GHPWH.
5. Leverage the alliance’s consumer and lab
research to increase EGWH sales nationally,
increase supply chain support and reduce
technology and product costs. This will ensure
greater product availability and reduced costs
for Northwest customers.
Appendix 2 - Natural Gas Programs | 115
Why NEEA?
1. NEEA can leverage its existing relationships
with utilities, manufacturers and the water
heating supply chain developed through the
electric heat pump water heating program.
2. Institutional experience related to ductless heat pumps and heat pump water heaters will ensure lessons learned on prior efforts translate to accelerated barrier removal and increased likelihood of locking in savings through local codes and federal standards.
3. Utility partners will benefit from decreased
risk by pooling funding at the regional
scale, leveraging NEEA’s risk management
assessment process, and collaborating with
extra-regional utilities to ensure national
uptake and thorough testing of new products
prior to launch.
Prior Alliance Accomplishments
to Build Upon
1. More than 30,000 residential electric heat
pump water heaters sold in the region driven
by the alliance’s efforts to remove barriers,
increase adoption and bolster utility programs.
2. The adoption by national partners, such as CEE, of the alliance’s Advanced Water Heater Specification (AWHS).
3. Successful lab and field testing of GHPWH
technology, demonstrating performance
capabilities and refining product design to
address issues.
4. Collaboration with all major water heater manufacturers to boost interest in GHPWH exploration and development.
5. Characterized market to identify trends,
barriers, opportunities and key market actors
by completing the updated (gas and electric)
water heater market characterization.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 116
HVAC
Market Description: Includes the supply chain
that manufactures, distributes, specifies, designs
and installs commercial HVAC products and end
consumers who purchase them.
Program: Condensing Rooftop Units
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving the Market Transformation Opportunity
1. The HVAC market is not currently optimized around cost and resiliency.
2. Condensing rooftop units (RTUs) have been
in the market since 2014, but only small
manufacturers offer products and sales are very
low-estimated at less than 1% of the total RTU
market.
3. Almost all current product offerings are custom-built units, making them inherently more expensive and resulting in longer lead times.
4. Lack of sales and investment are due to
low natural gas prices, the absence of
regulatory drivers, lack of market pressure to
expand product lines and lack of awareness
throughout the supply chain.
5. The HVAC supply chain lacks tools and education necessary to calculate projected paybacks for condensing RTUs and installation nuances.
6. Commercial warm air furnace (CWAF) manufacturers have begun developing and offering condensing heating modules for inclusion in small and large HVAC manufacturers packaged RTU product lines, opening up the potential for additional product market entry.
7. An apparent practice of utilizing conventional
RTUs (meant for up to 35% outside air)
in high-OA (up to 100%) applications may
offer a market entry point for cost-effective
condensing product lines in mild climates, like
much of the Northwest.
Long-Term Market Transformation Objectives
1. Transform the market so that Northwest commercial building owners and managers install Condensing RTUs as standard practice in applicable existing and new small to medium-sized commercial buildings.
2. Increase Northwest specifiers’ and installers’
skill in designing, sizing and configuring
Condensing RTUs for applicable commercial
buildings.
3. Influence a federal requirement of at least 90% efficiency for commercial warm air furnaces.
4. Influence the development of a readily-
available Condensing RTU with cost, weight
and reliability in line with a conventional RTU.
Success Metrics
1. Increased number of manufacturers offer
condensing RTU products.
2. Increased market share of condensing RTUs.
3. Increased awareness, acceptance, adoption
and technology expertise by HVAC supply
chain, including contractors, design build
firms and engineering firms.
4. Increased condensing RTUs installed in existing buildings and specified into new buildings.
5. New efficiency program opportunities for
the region.
Market Engagement and Activities
1. Engage with manufacturers to refine existing condensing products or develop new condensing products that will be comparable in cost, weight and reliability to conventional RTUs.
2. Partner with HVAC supply chain to increase
training and awareness of the condensing
RTU value proposition.
3. Engage with code and standard bodies to advance adoption of improved testing procedures, adopt increased efficiency requirements and streamline understanding of condensate management requirements.
Appendix 2 - Natural Gas Programs | 117
Why NEEA?
1. The alliance has developed deep relationships
with some of the largest HVAC manufacturers
in the world, and has the opportunity to
leverage these relationships to bring even
greater benefit to the Northwest.
2. The alliance continues to foster innovative, new HVAC technologies in the Northwest. Ductless Heat Pumps have seen tremendous market growth over the last decade due to successful market interventions and NEEA has been instrumental in bringing the components of Very High Efficiency Dedicated Outside Air Systems (VHE DOAS) to market and piloting the technology.
3. As condensing RTUs are adopted by the
market, NEEA can provide a regional
quality assurance feedback loop (trainings,
specifications & best practices development,
etc.) among manufacturers, installers and
utility program managers to support efficient,
energy saving results and positive customer
experiences to transform the market.
Prior Alliance Accomplishments
to Build Upon
1. The region has influenced more than 100,000
ductless heat pumps (DHPs) installed in the
Northwest.
2. More than 1,500 DHP installers were oriented in the DHP program.
3. The alliance has worked with distributors in
the Northwest to invest in opening regional,
hands-on training centers to focus on the DHP
installation process.
4. The first high efficiency heat recovery ventilator product line to North America was launched, and flagship VHE DOAS pilot projects in the Northwest were brought to market.
5. DOAS was incorporated in WA code for
targeted building types which will lay the
groundwork for VHE DOAS in later cycles.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 118
Description
NEEA accelerates market transformation by
providing a clear understanding of upstream,
midstream, and downstream target audiences and
the best ways to influence them. Marketing directly
addresses key market barriers prevalent across the
portfolio including lack of awareness, differentiation
of energy-efficient products, understanding of
product benefits, and supply chain support and
investment. The energy savings estimates provided
in the business plan assume downstream end-use
customer regional marketing interventions remain
as a part of NEEA’s core market transformation
activities to influence broad regional audiences
and achieve market transformation goals. There
is risk to the speed and level of energy savings if
the alliance is unable to address regional market
barriers through end-use customer marketing
interventions.
NEEA’s marketing strategies and activities are
created and executed in close collaboration with
Northwest utilities, extra-regional efficiency
organizations and national partners. They are
targeted at specific audiences and surgical in
their approach, rather than broad and general
Whenever possible, the alliance leverages existing
resources and tools in the market, such as the
Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY
STAR program and organizations such as Seattle
2030 and the Building Owner and Managers
Association (BOMA) to optimize regional market
transformation efforts and to help establish
an infrastructure that sustains energy-efficient
practices even after NEEA’s intervention.

Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving Cross-Product Leverage
Through economies of scale enabled by pooling
resources across the region, the alliance attracts
and influences national and international
organizations such as manufacturers and industry
associations. Marketing is a key support function
that NEEA provides its partners to increase the
adoption of their energy-efficient products and
practices. Key assumptions driving the regional
marketing strategy include:
1. Effective market transformation requires
influencing both the supply chain, the
decision makers and end users of the
technologies and practices.
2. Marketing efforts - when done in concert with manufacturers, distributors, funders and others to drive quicker adoption of products in the market are a primary value and influence point of the alliance with the supply chain as well as national and regional organizations.
3. Marketing strategies and tactics are more
efficient when developed and deployed at scale.
4. Websites and other digital communications are a vital part of market transformation efforts. The proliferation of mobile devices and an established reliance on web searches for information across all markets provides an opportunity to educate and inform target audiences through websites and other digital media. Digital channels have become so ingrained in day-to-day business practices and consumer behavior that the absence of a digital strategy severely limits the impact of
transformation efforts.
APPENDIX 3:
ALLIANCE MARKETING
Appendix 3: Alliance Marketing | 119
Websites provide an easy repository of resources
for upstream and midstream actors, including fact
sheets, video tutorials and infographics, which they
can tailor and share with their customers.
Objective
Drive the adoption of the practices and
technologies that NEEA supports through:
1. Awareness building and education.
2. Partnerships with manufacturers, national/regional organizations.
3. Uniform messaging and promotion to target
audiences in the Northwest region.
Success Metrics
All marketing activities and campaigns are
measured against established targets. Examples
of key progress indicators include:
1. Website traffic and engagement.
2. Newsletter opens and clicks.
3. Case study placement with market partners or
in publications.
4. Campaign specific metrics such as impressions, clicks or downloads.
5. Number of attendees at promoted trainings.
6. Number of events where materials are distributed.

Key Activities to Provide Value to the Region
Marketing activities are leveraged over the life of a
program at different times, depending on
the program strategy and barrier being addressed.
These activities are implemented in close
collaboration with funder staff as part of NEEA’s
funder coordination plans and Complementary
Approach philosophy.
Alliance marketing activities include:
1. Develop and execute downstream end-use customer awareness and education building campaigns that showcase Northwest commitment to market partners and drive market acceptance.
a. Coordinate and influence promotional
opportunities with national/regional partners
(e.g. ENERGY STAR, manufacturers, regional
corporate buying groups).
b. Influence marketing plans and activities of supply side partners to incorporate the Northwest message in the promotion of their products, services, or practices in the Northwest.
c. Conduct market research and strategy/
message testing to understand target
audiences.
d. Develop and manage strategic market
partnerships with key market actors (e.g.,
BOMA, green building organizations,
Northwest Energy Efficiency Council).
e. Develop and maintain websites and other digital tools that inform and educate the supply and demand-side audiences.
f. Create and maintain market-facing brands
to support the promotion of energy-efficient
technologies.
g. Plan and implement targeted, region-wide marketing campaigns to ensure engagement and support from the supply chain and address market awareness barriers.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 120
2. Create resources to help market partners and funders drive market acceptance.
a. Create training materials/collateral to increase
awareness and adoption (i.e., sales sheets,
product brochures, training material).
b. Influence and develop retail signage incorporating initiative messaging (e.g., Home Depot/Ductless Heat Pump signage).
c. Influence/coordinate POP (Point of
Purchase) placement (e.g., Heat Pump
Water Heater signage).
d. Develop technical resources for manufacturer partners leveraging Northwest experience with products to influence adoption, installations, etc.
e. Use market research/intelligence to create
infographics and other materials that
can disseminate complex information or
datasets in a digestible manner.
f. Create training and sales materials for
both supply and demand-side audiences.
g. Create templates, tools and materials that include a regional message to accelerate market adoption.
h. Develop case studies to showcase real
life installation and use of the products,
practices or services NEEA supports.
i. Create templates for utilities to use to support NEEA programs with their customers.
j. Create and support marketing material
for market partners.

Calls to Action in Alliance Marketing
Downstream marketing tactics are designed to
provide audiences with enough information to
motivate them to learn more. A call to action
directs a targeted audience to a website that
provides product or technology information and
additional resources and tools. Some marketing
activities direct the audience to an upstream or
midstream partner website.
Other activities direct the audience to an alliance
website. In addition to providing information about
the technology or product, alliance websites drive
visitors to utility websites for incentive information
and some websites provide information about
qualified installers and retailers that carry
products or direct consumers to utility websites
that provide this more detailed information.
Because downstream marketing tactics can only
deliver limited information, the call to action is
necessary to direct the audience to a website
with more detail – to accomplish the intended
tactical purpose of raising awareness and
educating the consumer about the new product
or technology. The call to action directs traffic to
one place, which is also critical for measuring the
effectiveness of the tactic.

See Appendix 9 for the alliance’s Guiding
Principles for Downstream Marketing Activities.
Appendix 4: NEEA Branding Plan | 121
NEEA’s Unique Role and Supply Chain Audiences
To accelerate the adoption of energy-efficient
products and practices, the alliance partners
with and influences a variety of audiences.
The audiences vary by program and lifecycle
stage and include upstream, midstream and
downstream audiences (see glossary of Key Terms
for definitions of these audiences). In all cases,
marketing is a key tool that helps deliver on:
1. Sales commitments to upstream actors, which is the rationale for their collaboration with the alliance; and,
2. Savings commitments to funders, which is the
rationale for their investments in the alliance.
How these upstream and midstream barriers are
addressed varies, depending on the stage in the
product lifecycle.

When a product is new to market and its
availability and utility incentives are limited, the
alliance focuses on influencing upstream and
midstream audiences. In this stage, the alliance’s
emphasis is on ensuring a viable product that
meets an efficient specification is in the market
and engaging the supply chain and providing
education and awareness to the market. This step
is necessary to ensure these audiences know the
appropriate use cases for the product, make the
product available and understand how to sell and
install it.

Many times, midstream and upstream actors
request assistance influencing downstream
audiences. Early adopters validate product
effectiveness, demonstrate the market demand
to the supply chain and act as case studies,
testimonials or other leverage points for awareness
and education of downstream audiences about the
product benefits.
Once one or more products are introduced in
the market, the alliance works to ensure these
products gain enough traction to keep the entire
supply chain engaged. As funder incentives
become more widely available, alliance efforts
focus on accelerating increased adoption to
address lack of awareness and education barriers.
This is done by coordinating and aligning activities
across upstream, midstream, funder and partner
programs, as well as implementing direct-to-
market support and providing information to
downstream audiences as necessary to meet
regional and upstream adoption targets.
APPENDIX 4:
NEEA BRANDING PLAN
Per the 2020-2024 Strategic Plan’s
Effective Portfolio boundary condition,
the alliance focuses on:
Efforts that reduce and/or remove
market barriers, primarily upstream and
midstream, and on readiness of market
transforming energy efficiency for best
overall value and sustained market change.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 122
Branding Approach
NEEA Brand
NEEA maintains a corporate brand that exists
to consistently represent the impact and efforts
of the diverse alliance of Northwest utilities and
energy efficiency organizations working together to
drive market transformation.
The goals of NEEA’s corporate brand are to
support alliance market transformation goals
by ensuring that funders, stakeholders and
the market are aware of and understand the
opportunity associated with alliance initiatives.
NEEA does this by establishing credibility and
engagement with funders, stakeholders and the
market by:
1. Communicating the alliance’s work by
accurately representing its opportunity, market
progress and collective impact; and,
2. Telling a compelling story of the value that the
alliance creates throughout the Northwest.
NEEA’s corporate brand is most commonly used
with utilities, efficiency organizations and other
entities who have long-term relationships with
the alliance across programs and sectors. NEEA
produces documents such as annual reports
and newsletters to inform utilities, efficiency
organizations, and other regional and national
partners of market transformation progress and
opportunities for collaboration.

The NEEA brand is used primarily with upstream
audiences to ensure the alliance has a relationship
with manufacturers across multiple programs
and/or sectors. For example, GE manufactures
both consumer products and commercial lighting
products. The alliance works with GE across a
variety of programs currently, and is likely to do so
in the future. Using a partner (i.e. ENERGY STAR)
or product-specific market-facing brand (i.e. Hot
Water Solutions) with GE would cause confusion
and potentially hinder the relationship.
NEEA’s corporate brand strategy is a business-to-
business one, meaning that the alliance will not
build an end-use customer-facing corporate brand.
Usage of the NEEA Brand by Audience
Upstream: The NEEA brand is used to
communicate with manufacturers across programs
and sectors. Usage includes name, logo and,
whenever possible, NEEA’s “lock-up” which
is its logo combined with funding utility logos
on presentations and other materials used in
conversations with manufacturers.
Midstream: The alliance typically utilizes partner
or market-facing brands with midstream audiences
to limit the use of the NEEA brand in the market
and to encourage co-branding opportunities with
funders and partners. However, when the alliance
is working with larger distributors or other entities
with a national presence, relationships often cross
programs and sectors making the NEEA brand a less
confusing option.
Downstream: Downstream marketing efforts are
conducted using partner brands or market-facing
brands whenever possible to avoid competing with
funders’ end-use customer relationships. The only
time the NEEA brand is used with downstream
audiences is when there is no market-facing or
partner brand and there is limited need for some
sort of attribution to a NEEA staff member or
program. Examples include a press release in
partnership with a manufacturer about a new
product launch before utilities are supporting the
product or an article that quotes a NEEA staff
member and calls out their place of work. In
these instances, NEEA staff always coordinate
with funders through alliance workgroups to offer
them the opportunity to be the entity of the quote
or part of the press release. Often, funders do
not want to be associated with press releases or
new articles on early-stage products if they don’t
have a program, deem the product too early to
associate with their brand with, or want to avoid
the appearance of being associated with a specific
manufacturer or product.
Appendix 4: NEEA Branding Plan | 123
Market Partner Brands
When it is possible and beneficial, the alliance
leverages established market partner brands to
influence, educate and inform audiences about a
product. For example, the alliance’s Super-Efficient
Dryers program worked with ENERGY STAR to
create the ENERGY STAR Most Efficient rating for
heat pump dryers. This labeling is used in retail
to differentiate these products from less efficient
dryers.
Usage of Market Partner Brands by Audience
Upstream: Communications using market partner
brands are targeted to midstream and downstream
market actors, not to manufacturers, however
manufacturers are aware of them because their
products are being promoted.
Midstream: Communications to midstream actors
many times leverage market partners brands. An
examples includes using the ENERGY STAR brand
with retailers and installers.
Downstream: The alliance works with national
manufacturers like LG, Whirlpool and other
partners to develop and implement media
campaigns on their behalf leveraging manufacturer
brands.
Market-Facing Brands
Whenever possible, NEEA attempts to leverage
market partner brands to influence downstream
audiences. Because the NEEA corporate brand is
not used with downstream audiences and when
a market partner brand is not available to use,
different product-specific brands are created
for specific programs (i.e. Hot Water Solutions).
Co-branding with market partners or utilities is
pursued whenever possible and customizable
templates are created and disseminated to
encourage uniform messaging to downstream
audiences. Using these market-facing brands for
these activities serves three purposes:
1. It provides an unbiased, third-party entity to
educate and inform midstream and downstream
audiences and enables co-branding by market
partners and utilities when they choose;
2. It prevents the NEEA brand from being
a consumer-facing brand which creates
competition with funders’ brands and their
communications to their end-use customers;
3. It creates a standalone product-oriented,
efficiency focused—rather than entity
focused—brand that is not associated with any
utility unless that utility desires the association.
Hot Water Solutions is an example of a market-
facing brand that is used in trainings with water
heater installers and has a website that is used to
educate downstream audiences. It holds information
about water heater product benefits, and provides
access to utility rebates and resources and lists of
trained installers.

Usage of Market Facing Brands by Audience
Upstream: Communications using market-facing
brands are targeted to midstream and downstream
market actors but manufacturers are aware of
them because their products
are being promoted.
Midstream: Communications that leverage market-
facing brands to midstream audiences include,
but are not limited to, trainings for the supply
chain, listings of trained installers on program
websites, distribution of customizable templates
and other email communications.
Downstream: Communications that leverage
market-facing brands to downstream audiences
include, but are not limited to, customer-facing
websites and communications to build awareness,
educate and drive traffic to funder and supply
chain partners incentives and offers.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 124
Figure 1: NEEA’s branding approach for Heat Pump Water Heaters (HPWH) and Next Step Homes (NSH)
programs
HPWH NSH
Brand used with Manufacturers
NEEA NEEA
Brand used with Installers / Retailers / Builders / Raters
Hot Water Solutions BetterBuiltNW
Brand used with End-Use Customers
Hot Water Solutions Market Partner Brands of Various
Green Building Programs such as
Earth Advantage and Built Green
Marketing Coordination Process
NEEA’s marketing strategies and activities are created and executed in close collaboration with
Northwest utilities, extra-regional efficiency organizations and national partners. See Appendix 9 for the
alliance’s Guiding Principles for Downstream Marketing Activities.
Appendix 5: Enabling Infrastructure | 125
MIDSTREAM CHANNEL PLATFORMS
Distributor Platform
Description: This platform is comprised of key
market relationships, ongoing data collection
activities and repeatable program processes
developed through the Reduced Wattage Lamp
Replacement program. The platform supports
multiple programs across different Product Groups,
including Lighting, Motor-Driven Systems and Water
Heaters.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving Cross-Product Leverage
1. There are products that may be challenging for traditional programs to influence cost-effectively.
2. Sales of efficient products can be
influenced and tracked via regional distributor
relationships and market sales data gathered
through the platform.
3. Sales data derived from the platform allows savings tracking for alliance programs and enables market insights that can be leveraged to inform NEEA, funder and distributor decision making.
4. The regional sales data that is derived
from the platform can be utilized by codes
and standards work to support the public
comment process at the national level.
Objectives
1. Leverage the relationships, interventions and
data capabilities of the distributor platform to
achieve cost-effective savings and new utility
customer engagement opportunities across
multiple product categories.
2. Foster mutually beneficial relationships between distributors and the alliance that:
a. Motivate distributors to stock and sell
targeted energy-efficient products; and,
b. Incentivize and facilitate secure delivery of branch-level sales data for targeted product
categories.
Success Metrics
1. NEEA and funder program utilization of the platform.
2. Total market share represented by distributors
enrolled in the platform.
3. Number of product categories for which NEEA collects sales data.
4. Increasing market share of efficient products.
5. Codes and standards influenced by distributor platform data.
APPENDIX 5:
ENABLING
INFRASTRUCTURE
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 126
Key Activities that Provide Value to the Region
1. Enables greater market transformation by
influencing stocking and sales.
2. Ensures access to market data and insights that can inform program strategies.
3. Supports utilities with cost-effective savings
(utilities can utilize the Platform to capture
savings that are too small or costly to be
captured through traditional, downstream
incentive programs).
4. Increases Funder program impact by engaging distributors via the Platform to enhance results of downstream programs.
5. Creates new Funder and regional midstream
engagement opportunities that complement and
offer new pathways for the region’s programs.
Retail Platform
Description: Since the High-Efficiency TVs
program that launched in 2009, NEEA has
been carefully building and cultivating strategic
partnerships with national retailers and the
manufacturers that sell through them. These efforts
have gradually become more formalized and are
now fully integrated into the Retail Platform that
was launched in 2014 to support the region’s Retail
Product Portfolio (RPP) initiative. While primarily
supporting RPP, the Retail Platform is designed
to support virtually any energy-efficient Consumer
Product flowing through the retail channel.
To date, the platform has resulted in deeper
relationships with strategic national retailers and
extra-regional partners, has provided access
to full category sales data and has given the
region greater influence on the ENERGY STAR
specification process. For retailers, the platform
significantly reduces their costs associated with the
administration of efficiency programs by creating a
consistent process for sharing data and transferring
incentive payments.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving Cross-Product Leverage
1. There are products that may be challenging
for traditional programs to influence cost
effectively.
2. Major national retail (physical and online) is a key distribution channel. The Retail Platform will support regional midstream efforts across any product category sold by retail partners including residential and small commercial HVAC, lighting, water heating, consumer products, and windows.
3. To satisfy consumers, retailers are required
to stay abreast of technological and market
changes across all the product categories they
merchandise. Retail partnerships will become
more valuable as the speed of product
commercialization continues.
4. The regional sales data that is derived from the platform will inform alliance intervention strategies and funder program strategies, provide market insights and can be utilized by codes and standards work to support public comment process at the national level.

Objectives
1. Add additional products and retailers to the platform as needed to accelerate market transformation of consumer products.
2. Leverage the platform to support funders’ local midstream efforts as requested.
Success Metrics
1. Increase alliance program use of the Retail Platform.
2. Formalize the use of knowledge gained through analysis of the data continued
in the portal.
Key Activities that Provide Value to the Region The Retail Platform is a critical infrastructure to engage national retailers to enable greater volume of efficient products and expand regional data collection and analytics. This work creates efficiencies and provide an essential foundation that any local or regional program can take advantage of at a lower risk and cost than if done on their own.
Appendix 5: Enabling Infrastructure | 127
MARKET RESOURCES
Integrated Design Labs
Description: The mission of the Integrated Design
Labs (Labs) is to transform the design, construction,
and operations of commercial, institutional, and
residential buildings to advance energy-efficient,
high-performance and healthy buildings to the
Northwest. Integrated Design Labs exist at
Universities of Idaho, Oregon and Washington, and
at Montana and Washington State Universities. The
Labs are a critical partner to alliance programs,
accelerating market transformation through research,
technical assistance and education that are used by
alliance programs and market partners.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving Cross-Product Leverage
1. The Labs are a critical source of and testing ground for emerging technologies and practices.
2. The Labs can be leveraged to support local
and regional efficiency programs through
case studies, training, testing, evaluating new
technologies and building awareness of new
programs or technologies within the design
community.
3. Designers, engineers and the building owners and managers they work with are a critical leverage point for efficient building practices across programs and they need resources to support their understanding and ability to implement energy-efficient building practices.

Objectives
1. Influence new construction and renovation projects to cost-effectively achieve exceptional energy performance targets and serve as a model for future buildings and practices.
2. Drawing on their expertise, tools and relationships, the Labs deliver valuable energy efficiency resources that serve multiple product initiatives as well as funders and their customers.
Success Metrics
1. Buildings (number, square footage and type) and individuals influenced through technical assistance, other firm engagement and educational programs.
2. Alliance initiative and utility program engagement of Labs (number and scope of engagements).
Key Activities to Provide Value to the Region The Integrated Design Lab Network bolsters NEEA’s capacity to deliver market transformation in a manner specifically tailored to diverse regional needs
in multiple ways:
1. Bring solutions to rapidly emerging challenges, feeding the emerging technology pipeline.
2. Develop and advance tools, methods and technologies to accelerate energy-efficient buildings through research and project-based education.
3. Quantify and verify energy savings from new technologies and practices.
4. Deliver educational programs and experiences that form the next generation of leaders in the building industry.
5. Create leads and opportunities at very early phases of project development, when efficiency can most effectively be influenced.
BetterBricks
Description: BetterBricks is a resource that
supports the alliance’s commercial and industrial
programs by raising market awareness and
capability for energy efficiency technologies and
decision making. The brand was launched in
1999 and became a trusted resource for building
professionals. In an online survey of 272 building
professionals across the region, 95% were familiar
with the BetterBricks brand. The target audiences
for this work include building owners, property
managers, building facilities staff, architects,
designers, engineers and contractors. The
BetterBricks resource is supported by two main
components:
1. The BetterBricks website, which provides
information, tools and resources about
efficient buildings.
2. Market relationships with organizations such as Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC), Building Operators and Managers Association (BOMA), International Facility Management Association (IFMA), Seattle 2030, Lloyd Eco-district, American Institute of Architects (AIA), American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning (ASHRAE), New Buildings Institute (NBI), Better Buildings, and building-specific management organizations (Oregon School Facilities Management Association (OFSMA), and Washington State Society for Healthcare Engineering (WSSHE), etc.)
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 128
Leveraging the BetterBricks brand to promote
the alliance’s commercial programs allows for a
uniform market presence with trade organizations
and building side audiences across the region
without having to create separate market-facing
brands to promote new products as they enter the
alliance’s portfolio.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving Cross-Product Leverage
1. Target audiences in commercial buildings
are overwhelmed by the number of available
resources. They are seeking a non-biased,
third party resource to help them find the best
solutions for their buildings.
2. The BetterBricks brand has a high level of awareness in market and is a trusted resource about efficiency in buildings.

Objectives
1. Position BetterBricks as a trusted resource for professionals who own, operate, and manage commercial buildings to learn about energy efficiency best practices and technologies.
2. Facilitate broader adoption of energy-efficient
products and practices and higher utilization
of utility programs and incentives for
commercial buildings.

Success Metrics
1. Web traffic, resource downloads, newsletter engagement and survey feedback.
2. Program evaluations are used to measure specific market progress indicators for
programs that leverage BetterBricks.
Key Activities that Provide Value to the Region
1. Provide resources and information that are relevant to market actors across building types via BetterBricks, making it an efficient way to inform and educate commercial building audiences about the technologies and practices in the alliance portfolio.
2. Drive target audiences to utilities and efficiency organizations for more information about incentives and programs.
3. Educate and inform the commercial real estate audience about the technologies and practices in the alliance portfolio and the local utilty programs that incentivize them through the CREHub tool on BetterBricks.
4. Educate and inform the members of industry associations that are partners of BetterBricks about the technologies and practices in the alliance portfolio and relevant utility and energy efficiency organization programs.
Special Project C&I SEM
(Commercial and Industrial Strategic Energy
Management)
Description: Strategic Energy Management (SEM) is recognized as a pathway to deeper
energy efficiency within commercial and industrial programs and is a foundation for deeper and
more enduring customer relationships. Existing SEM infrastructure is the result of several years of
regional investment and collaboration. The previous cycle’s work established valuable SEM tools and
resources on the online SEM Hub knowledge center, increased consensus on common SEM
standards, and improved regional and national collaboration on SEM initiatives.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving Cross-Product Leverage
1. Needs vary by customer and utility, but all SEM practitioners face common challenges.
2. Robust collaboration between SEM programs, convened by NEEA since 2011, improves the efficiency and effectiveness of SEM programs through shared inquiry, innovation and knowledge transfer.
3. The SEM Hub and SEM Collaborative enable the targeted application of technology and problem solving to the challenges facing SEM practitioners and participants.
Appendix 5: Enabling Infrastructure | 129
Objectives
1. Increase commercial and industrial
customers’ perceived value in SEM as a
strategy for meeting their sustainability and
energy performance goals.
2. Enable greater development and use of high-value SEM tools and resources by regional stakeholders to launch, grow and sustain regional SEM programs.
3. Enable the region to leverage the SEM Hub
Energy Management Assessment (EMA) tool to
measure baseline SEM practices and identify
targeted savings opportunities.
4. Build regional and national consensus on SEM as a best practice or de facto standard.
Success Metrics
1. Further adoption of SEM in the Northwest
region.
2. Increased number of NEEA funders using SEM Hub tools and resources to enhance their SEM program implementation and customer engagement.
3. Increased participation in the Northwest SEM
Collaborative and hosted events.
Key Activities to Provide Value to the Region
1. Provide a resource for sponsoring utilities in promoting and utilizing SEM as a fundamental customer engagement tool through the SEM Hub (SEMHub.com). Customized portals can be used directly for SEM program implementation.
2. Convene the community of SEM practitioners around shared challenges and solutions to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of SEM programs.
3. Identify new opportunities for SEM infrastructure, such as:
a. Small-medium company SEM
b. Supporting the nascent North American SEM Collaborative
c. Creating new white-label online tools for SEM savings tracking
d. Supporting next generation manufacturing clusters and energy efficiency opportunities within the American Jobs Project.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 130
TRAINING
Top Tier Trade Ally Training
Description: The Top Tier Trade Ally Training
infrastructure builds lighting trade ally skills to
support the delivery of energy-efficient commercial
and industrial lighting retrofit projects. Investment in
establishing the NXT Level training and designation
during the 2015-2019 business cycle has created
the foundation for advanced training infrastructure
that will enable the region to meet evolving training
needs of commercial and industrial lighting trade
allies. As the NXT Level base grows, NEEA will
seek market partners to sustain market delivery and
regional support.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving Cross-Product Leverage
1. Trained trade allies are an ongoing need for the region’s programs, and are seen as critical to program success and end-customer satisfaction.
2. NEEA’s NXT Level training for utility lighting
trade allies will continue to engage market
partners to help it grow and continue to serve
the comprehensive retrofit training needs of
the region.
3. Coordination with local utility programs to incorporate advanced training and designation into program design builds demand for allies that can demonstrate advanced skills.

Objectives
1. Trained trade allies effectively specify, design, sell and install the most efficient technology, in support of alliance initiatives and funder program goals.
2. NXT Level training and designations continue to grow and support alliance programs.
Success Metrics
1. Trends in trade ally specification, design and sales of comprehensive retrofits and technologies being promoted by initiatives and programs.
2. Increased adoption of NXT Level Training, and support in the region and by market partners to sustain the offering over time.
Key Activities to Provide Value to the Region
1. Ensure training designations offer funder programs opportunities to direct customers to qualified trade allies and extend exclusive benefits to qualified allies, such as award eligibility or fast-track program applications.
2. Support regionally consistent training that offers economies of scale and consistency for trade allies and customers, especially those who span multiple funder territories.
3. Raise trade ally skill level and break down barriers for customers to initiate comprehensive projects.
4. Transition training to the market to deliver cost savings and enable the market to sustain the training over time.
5. Leverage NEEA’s learning management system for small-scale training needs on specific topics (i.e. Lighting Basics an online training for lighting contractors available through the Northwest Lighting Network website).
Industrial Technical Training
(Special Project)
Description: Industrial Technical Training infrastructure provides coordinated technical
training on key industrial energy efficiency concepts to support industrial energy efficiency programs
and build market capacity to implement industrial energy efficiency projects. Utility co-sponsors help
select, plan and promote trainings in a coordinated regional approach. This long-standing NEEA service
offering educates people who directly impact the largest energy loads in the Northwest – operators,
engineers, consultants and utility staff.
Market Conditions and Assumptions Driving Cross-Product Leverage
1. There is a lack of awareness of industrial energy efficiency among facility owners and managers, and technical capacity among industrial end users to implement actions that will reduce energy intensity.
2. Industrial Technical Training will continue to engage market partners to help it continue to serve the training needs of the region.
Appendix 5: Enabling Infrastructure | 131
Objectives
1. Build industrial energy efficiency awareness
and technical capacity among the region’s
industrial end-users.
2. Achieve economies of scale for providing industrial energy efficiency training in support of alliance programs.
Success Metrics
Number of trainings and trainees, as targeted in
annual training coordination plans.
Key Activities to Provide Value to the Region
1. Develop and implement annual training
coordination plans with sponsors.
2. Coordinate delivery of training to avoid duplication of effort among utilities and market partners.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 132
Energy Savings
Energy savings are an output resulting from changes
in markets that the alliance is working
to transform or has transformed through collaborative
local and regional efforts.
The best way to measure the results of alliance
efforts is the collective achievement of market
adoption and the resulting energy savings in the
market above what would have occurred otherwise,
also known as the market baseline.
As new investment programs move through the
development lifecycle, the forecasted energy savings
potential is estimated. The development process of
moving a program from the early phase of product
assessment to full scale market development
can take 3-5 years or longer, with energy savings
ramping over several subsequent years. A portion of
funding from this Business Plan will be used to seed
these early program investments and the associated
energy savings may not be recognized until future
funding cycles.
Definitions of Alliance Energy Savings
• Total Regional Savings: Energy savings
associated with all market changes. Total
Regional Savings represents the trackable
adoption in the market for the efficient product
or service. This only captures first-year savings.
• Baseline Savings: Energy savings from market growth and change that would naturally occur without any market intervention on behalf of efficiency including any utility, NEEA, Bonneville Power Administration and Energy Trust of Oregon funded intervention.
• Local Programs: These are savings counted
through the Bonneville Power Administration,
the Energy Trust of Oregon and local utilities.
NEEA estimates and forecasts these values by
surveying these stakeholders about their local
programs on an annual basis.
• Net Market Effects: Savings associated with market change that are not counted as Baseline or Local Programs. It is a derived calculation of all other changes in the market that are not counted through baseline or local programs, but that the alliance is able to track through its ability to estimate Total Regional Savings.
• Co-Created Savings: All energy savings above
baseline that occur in the market due to the
combined efforts of utilities, the alliance and
other actors.
APPENDIX 6:
ENERGY SAVINGS,
AVOIDED CARBON
EMISSIONS AND PEAK
CAPACITY VALUE
Appendix 6: Energy Savings, Avoiding Carbon Emissions & Peak Capacity Value | 133
Electric Energy Savings Trends
Savings forecasting for the newest programs is based on early data and preliminary estimates, and comes
with significant uncertainty. Savings in the near-term (2020-2024) are driven primarily by three programs:
Ductless Heat Pumps, Heat Pump Water Heaters and Retail Product Portfolio. Risk in any of these
programs will have a significant impact on the savings potential of the portfolio. Risk mitigation for the
long-term (beyond 2024) is found through strong investment in new emerging technology opportunities
and advancement of new programs. The long-term savings has only a minimal placeholder for emerging
technologies yet to be identified in the 2020-2024 Business Plan.
A periodic dip is forecasted in the co-created savings stream during this Business Plan due to previous
investments phasing out and new programs phasing in at a slower rate, as well as the impact on the pipeline
of the removal of three initiatives from the portfolio at the start of the 2015-2019 Business Plan. The
forecast increases again after 2025 in large part due an expected federal standard on electric water heaters
mandating heat pump levels of performance. These energy savings estimates are based on the current
Business Plan and are illustrated in Figure 2.
Figure 1: Alliance Energy Savings (aMW)
TOTAL
MARKETADOPTION
MARKET BASELINE
TIME
Net Market Effects
Local Programs
5 years 10 years 15 years 20+ years
CURRENT
MARKET SHARE
CO-CREATED
SAVINGS
TOTALREGIONAL SAVINGS
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 134
Figure 2: Co-Created Electric Energy Savings Trends (aMW)
Co-Created Electric Savings Trends
1. The forecast in figure 2 reflects a summation of: 1) moderate to high certainty savings estimates from more mature programs in the portfolio; 2) moderate to low certainty savings estimates for less mature programs; and 3) preliminary savings estimates for new programs recently added.
2. Range estimates are provided to best reflect the certainty bands for the investment portfolio in this plan.
3. The heat pump water heater program is pursuing a federal standard that has the potential for large future savings beginning in 2026. Due to the considerable variability in timing and magnitude, the savings associated with achieving this federal standard are called out separately. New information introduced regarding risk of the heat pump water heater federal standard, which is more likely to be in the 2028 time horizon.
Appendix 6: Energy Savings, Avoiding Carbon Emissions & Peak Capacity Value | 135
Energy Savings Projections
Figures 3 and 4 show the estimated range
of energy efficiency savings potential of the
alliance’s electric portfolio. The savings as a
result of alliance efforts is forecasted to be lower
in the 2020-2024 business cycle than seen
in previous cycles. This is the effect of large
programs in residential products and standards
reaching baseline expectations and three market
transformation initiatives removed from the
portfolio in 2014.
These forecasts contain the reassignment of
programs that are 2015-2019 current investment
into what will be considered in the previous
investment category in the 2020-2024 Business
Plan (Ductless Heat Pump, Residential Codes
and Reduced Wattage Lamp Replacements).
Figure 5 illustrates the forecasted therm savings
for the 2020-2024 Business Plan. These savings
are forecasted at the Total Regional Savings level
versus Co-Created because baselines haven’t
been completed on the natural gas portfolio work.
Figure 3: Co-Created Alliance Electric Savings (aMW)
Figure 4: Total Regional Alliance Electric Savings (aMW)
2015-2019 SAVINGS RANGE
2020-2024 SAVINGS RANGE
2020-2029 SAVINGS RANGE
Previously Funded Investments 120-130 75-90 100-125
Current Investments 60-65 40-62 110-175
All Investments 180-195 115-152 210-300
2015-2019 SAVINGS RANGE
2020-2024 SAVINGS RANGE
2020-2029 SAVINGS RANGE
Previously Funded Investments 510-525 300-400 500-700
Current Investments 140-150 60-100 150-230
All Investments 650-670 360-500 650-930
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 136
Figure 5: Draft 3 Total Regional Alliance Natural Gas Energy Savings (Annual Therms23)
NATURAL GAS SAVINGS 2015-2019 TOTAL REGIONAL SAVINGS RANGE 2020-2024 TOTAL REGIONAL SAVINGS24 2020-29 TOTAL REGIONAL SAVINGS
Total TBD 11M – 18M 14M – 34M
5-Year Projection Assumptions:
1. Forecast reflects best available information as of July 2018. NEEA updates business progress and reflective savings forecast every September and April.
2. All initiatives in the current portfolio as of July
2018 are expected to continue to deliver savings
for the region and are forecast as such.
3. Previous Investments represent savings from new installations in the market above baseline. Majority of savings are from Residential CFL and TVs, which are nearing baseline and will no longer produce new savings for the region after 2018.
4. The alliance has added 3 new electric
initiatives that are still in early stages of
development and savings forecast potential in
preliminary stages of development: Window
Attachments, Commercial HVAC (Dedicated
Outdoor Air System) and Extended Motor
Product Label. This forecasts adds risk
in the savings profile for new programs in
development based on budget reallocations
that are unfavorable to New Construction and
Building Envelope Product Groups.
5. The alliance has confirmed two gas initiatives
to continue – Condensing Rooftop Units
and Efficient Gas Water Heating – and will
be pursuing a new opportunity within the
Residential New Construction Product Group
Category.
6. Near-term (2020-2024) savings forecasts in the electric portfolio are primarily generated by two programs that are in development: Retail Product Portfolio and Heat Pump Water Heaters.
7. The chart above assumes Electric Heat Pump
Water Heater can reach a small tank federal
standard by 2025. There is risk in achieving this
date, and a significant portion of savings will be
delayed if the standard date is moved out.
8. Long-term (2025-2029 and 2030-2034) savings viability is highly dependent upon investment to ramp up new initiatives in the market; this will diversify the portfolio, alleviate current risk in the electric portfolio where there is high dependence on two programs, as well as ensure future stream of savings for the region.
9. The energy savings estimates provided in the
business plan assume downstream end-use
customer regional marketing interventions
remain as a standard part of NEEA’s core
market transformation activities to influence
broad regional audiences and achieve market
transformation goals. There is risk to the speed
and level of energy savings if the alliance is
unable to address regional market barriers
through downstream marketing interventions.
10-Year Projection Assumptions:
The alliance works in the market for sustained
change which is best reflected in a longer time
horizon. The 10-year energy savings estimates
resulting from the alliance’s investment in the
portfolio include large Variability Factors reflected
in ranges, including:
1. Risks (delay in approval and/or consumer adoption) in new Small Tank Fed Standard for Electric Heat Pump Water Heaters – updated to reflect a 2028 standard.
2. Risks in speed of adoption and long-term
potential of new programs currently in
development (e.g., Luminaire Level Lighting
Controls, Retail Product Portfolio, Rooftop Unit
programs in both Electric and Natural Gas
portfolio).23. Annual Therms: Only first-year savings from a new efficient
measure are accounted for.
Annual Therms: Only first-year savings from a new efficient measure are accounted for.
24. Total regional savings are all savings occurring from the pre-in-
tervention starting point of the market. Estimates will be refined
continuously as initiatives mature. Co-created savings will be
determined for these programs in the 2020-2024 funding cycle.
Appendix 6: Energy Savings, Avoiding Carbon Emissions & Peak Capacity Value | 137
Figure 6: 2020–2024 Business Plan Total Regional Value
LOW FORECAST HIGH FORECAST
Summer 155 205 MW peak reduction
Winter 210 278 MW peak reduction
Carbon 419,000 554,000 Tons of CO2 avoided
Regional Peak Capacity and Avoided Carbon Emissions (Electric Only)
NEEA is able to now estimate additional value derived as a result of its total efforts and resulting electric savings in the market in the form of Regional Peak Capacity savings and Avoided Carbon Emissions. The alliance has worked with the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NWPCC) to align on a methodology for estimating carbon savings for electric energy savings. The alliance will conduct similar activities with the NWPCC to align on a similar methodology for natural gas savings starting in the 2020–2024 cycle.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 138
Figure 1. Regional Emerging Technology Advisory Committee (RETAC) 2.0 Product Taxonomy
ENERGY SYSTEM SUBSYSTEM
Building Envelope Walls, Roof, Floors
Windows and Skylights
Electronics Information Technology, Other Devices
Commissioning, Sensors and Controls
HVAC Air and Fluid Distribution, Heat Pumps
Heat Recovery, Other HVAC systems
Rooftop Units and Air Handling Units
Sensors and Controls, Commissioning
Irrigation Irrigation Systems, Commissioning
Lighting Sensors and Controls, Design
Fixtures: Indoor, Outdoor
Lamps and Ballasts, Commissioning
Motors and Drives Drives, Motors
Whole Building/Meter Level Design, Assessments, Commission
Energy Management, Behavior
Power Systems Backup Power, Building Power Distribution
Metering, Power Generation, Transformers
Process Loads and
Appliances Commercial and Residential Appliances
Industrial Processes, Municipal Processes
Refrigeration Sensors and Controls, Refrigeration Systems
Refrigerated Cases, Waste Heat Recovery
Commissioning
Transportation Electric Vehicles
Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment
Elevators and Escalators, Block Heaters
Water Heating Heat Recovery, Water Heaters
Water Conservation, Sensors and Controls
A product taxonomy provides a common
classification scheme by energy system and sub-
system. The taxonomy is based on prior work in
the Northwest (Northwest Power and Conservation
Council, 2016; E3T Program). Each Product in
the Database can be assigned one or more energy
systems and subsystems for classification purposes.
The taxonomy enables users to quickly determine
emerging natural gas and electric technology
activities in specific application areas, for example,
HVAC/Heat Pumps, or Lighting/Sensors & Controls.
See Table 1 below for a complete description of the
product taxonomy.
APPENDIX 7:
PRODUCT TAXONOMY
Appendix 8: Product Readiness | 139
The Northwest Power and Conservation Act (Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act, 1980) establishes the foundation for energy efficiency measure (or “product”) readiness in the Northwest, identifying reliability, availability and cost-effectiveness as key requirements for consideration as a savings measure. Following this lead, the newly created RETAC 2.0 readiness framework comprises three readiness components: 1) Product Performance; 2) Market/Commercial; and 3) Program. See Figure below for an overview of the entire readiness framework. The three readiness components are designed to operate independently, such that a given energy efficiency opportunity may rate very high on market/commercial readiness, but very low on product performance and program readiness, for example. The initial release of the readiness framework does not include technology readiness25 because of the focus on commercially available products, although this could be easily added to the framework in the future.
The Product Performance readiness component, based on a previously established 6-level metric (Energy Efficiency Emerging Technology Program), focuses on energy savings reliability across a range of intended applications. The readiness levels cover a spectrum of validation methods including engineering calculations, lab tests, field tests, and endorsement of savings by a regional or national body.
While it may be obvious that market/commercial readiness is distinct from technical readiness, there is no widely-accepted commercial readiness index (CRI). The Australian government has recognized this gap and developed a CRI to support the demonstration and deployment of new renewable energy technology (Australian Renewable Energy Agency, 2014). RETAC 2.0 expands the CRI concept to include both supply chain maturity as well as progress toward overall market transformation via removal of barriers impeding widespread availability and adoption.
The third readiness component, program, tracks progress toward inclusion in energy efficiency programs from utilities and similar organizations. Overall cost-effectiveness, progress in program design, and risk assessments are incorporated into this readiness component.
APPENDIX 8:
PRODUCT READINESS
25. The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) index (U.S DOE, 2015) provides a widely-accepted method to manage the development
of new technology across a wide variety of sectors, including
energy.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 140
Figure 1: Pipeline Readiness Levels Figure 1:Pipeline Readiness Levels
v-c-
Qj
i
Performance c5i
z>
£tfnergryscrv/ngs refiafwVrty
Fitness for use
Q$<£i ££i.§3?$MarketeT5£§£Supply chain maturity
Demand development
tS 4«y
£o
c -I-'35£
^%
%\\%.%
%\*
£U Cv4
o°3 1
2
V\
V
1 C:o
e-
c
\%ft
1 <&%^
*1%
5Noprogramdesignorriskassessment;>-2
oft3o \%%\P
-%%Path to Cost effectiveness,limited program
design and risk assessment
ft2 -j-
%ft %ft %ft.%\3 ftPathtoCosteffectiveness,small scale pilots ft
fts3%
Nearly Cost effective,large pilots underway,
well developed risk assessment
£4
Cost effective,ready for full-scale programs 5
Program *
Cost effectiveness
Risk Assessment
2020-2024 I NEEA Business Plan I 140
Appendix 9: Guiding Principles for Downstream Marketing Execution Activities | 141
Problem Statement
Downstream marketing activities are a small
subset of the marketing activities undertaken
at NEEA, and they are a sensitive subject with
funders due to the customer touch.
Objective
These guiding principles address a dual objective:
funder concerns around marketing to customers
and the ongoing effectiveness of regional Market
Transformation work. The intent of this work
is to ensure transparency, adequate time for
deliberation, coordination in the planning process,
and the ability to assess the effectiveness of the
alliance’s evolving regional downstream marketing
work.
Principles for Downstream Marketing
Execution Activities
1. An implementation process will achieve the
dual objective above.
2. An option for self-delivery and exemption will be provided for funders.
3. Funders will have flexibility regarding the
timing of self-delivery.
4. The delivery of marketing activities in participating and self-delivering service territories will include the entire electric and/or gas service territory, including areas with overlapping zip codes.
5. Decisions made should include
consideration of the regional result and
initiatives’ objectives.

These guiding principles represent a compromise
by NEEA’s Board. They are not intended to set
a precedent for reimbursement, self-delivery or exemption. The Board will re-evaluate these guiding principles as part of a mid-cycle assessment in 2022 to determine effectiveness of these principles and identify suggested improvements. Funder documentation of self-delivery work and/or exemption will be essential for this review. RPAC+26 will develop specific metrics and desired outcomes for this mid-cycle review.
Implementation of Principles
1. Coordination process for downstream marketing execution
a. ILC Milestones - As part of the Business Case for Scale-up Approval milestone
votes at RPAC, downstream marketing activities will be flagged if they are a
strategy for that phase of the program. To the extent downstream marketing is known
as a potential intervention following the Initiative Start milestone, it will be flagged
in the Business Case. Purpose: Information sharing around
marketing, decision point for program progress.
b. Prior to October each year, or as early
as available - Funders agree to share marketing plans relating to relevant
alliance programs. NEEA staff will provide guidance.
Purpose: Information sharing around marketing, consider opportunities for
leverage and coordination.
APPENDIX 9:
GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR
DOWNSTREAM MARKETING
EXECUTION ACTIVITIES
26. A group consisting of Regional Portfolio Advisory
Committee members, funder marketing staff and other
electric and natural gas funder staff.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 142
c. Early October each year - As part of the Operations Plan packet, RPAC+ will receive
a Marketing calendar with downstream activities for the upcoming calendar year
highlighted.
i. Marketing calendar is presented as part of Operations Plan presentation
ii. RPAC+ shares marketing calendar internally with marketing and program staff and discusses proposed downstream activities in advance of Q4 RPAC meeting
Purpose: Information sharing in preparation for decision at Q4 RPAC
meeting
d. Q4 RPAC Meeting - Funders will be
prepared to discuss their marketing plans and opportunities for regional synergies.
Funders will commit to participating, self-delivery, or exemption for downstream
marketing activities for the upcoming calendar year.
Purpose: Decision point for activities in the draft Operations Plan marketing
calendar, informs the Operations Plan that is approved by the Board.
e. Two months prior to planned campaign-
NEEA staff will conduct a webinar for RPAC+ sharing NEEA’s planned marketing
approach. Funders opting to self-deliver agree to document and share their planned
marketing approach within four weeks following this webinar.
Purpose: Information sharing
f. Q2 RPAC Meeting - If changes or additions are made to the current-year Marketing
calendar, there is another discussion at the Q2 RPAC meeting and changes will be sent
to RPAC+ a month prior to the meeting for internal review/vetting. Funders will commit
to participating, self-delivery, or exemption for downstream marketing activities in their
territories.Purpose: Decision point for any activities added to marketing calendar
g. Quarterly - Marketing calendar will be
included in quarterly marketing newsletter. Newsletter distribution will include
marketing contacts, RPAC, gas funders, and sector advisory committee members
(other program staff can request to be included).
Purpose: Information sharing
h. Ad hoc -If there are new marketing activities that were not included in the
previous semiannual review but have a planned start-date before or within two
months following the next scheduled review, a special communication with
RPAC+ will be initiated to determine whether a special meeting/webinar is
needed, or if the next scheduled review (Q4 or Q2) is sufficient for determining how the
activity will be executed. Purpose: Possible decision point if a
special meeting/webinar is needed
2. Option for self-delivery and exemption in downstream marketing execution
a. Funders agree to document their rationale
for self-delivery or exemption and, when choosing to self-deliver, share their plans
to support the intended outcome of the regional effort.
b. NEEA staff will provide an online template
to support funder documentation in a streamlined and efficient manner. Funders
agree to document activities executed in the market within approximately 30
days following execution of self-delivered activities. Funders agree to document and
share results as they become available.
c. Documentation is recommended in the spirit of sharing, collaboration and learning,
and is not intended as scrutiny of Funder decisions.
3. Flexibility around self-delivery timing for
downstream marketing execution
a. At the time the Marketing calendar is reviewed with RPAC+ (Q2 and Q4), Funder
plans for self-delivery of downstream marketing activities will include an
expected execution timeframe and rationale. Funders choosing self-delivery
of regional execution agree to conduct activities within a timeframe that will help
meet regional objectives in the spirit of this agreement.
Appendix 9: Guiding Principles for Downstream Marketing Execution Activities | 143
b. When a Funder opts for self-delivery of downstream marketing activities, NEEA
staff and the funder should attempt to coordinate activities to optimize campaign
effectiveness. This coordination should include consideration of timing sensitivity
(e.g. seasonality, partnership commitments, etc.
4. Handling of areas with overlapping zip codes
in downstream marketing execution
a. Alliance activities will include all electric and/or natural gas zip codes for funders
participating in the regional campaign irrespective of self-delivery or exemption
elections of other funders with overlapping zip codes. Other coordination arrangements
may be considered.
b. Self-delivery activities may include coverage for overlapping zip codes in addition to any
regional campaign activity. Funders opting to self-deliver agree to include all of their
electric and/or natural gas service territory zip codes in the activity they undertake to
support the regional campaign.
5. Reimbursement for downstream marketing execution
a. Reimbursement for self-delivering funders will be based on the funder share of
budgeted costs for each campaign or activity in each Operations Plan and
as agreed by funders at each Q2 RPAC meeting for any mid-year changes to
marketing activities.
b. No reimbursements are provided if the campaign or activity is cancelled.
c. Reimbursement is not provided for
exemption.
d. Reimbursement will be provided on request and computed on an annual basis and
will be provided in the form of a bill credit after acceptan ce of the audit report for the
preceding year.
KEY TERMS | 144
KEY TERMS FOR NEEASTRATEGIC AND BUSINESS PLANNING
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 146
Exemption: Regional downstream awareness building activities are not executed by either NEEA or by a funder.
Funders: A direct funder or indirect funder of NEEA.
• Direct funder – A utility or public benefits
administrator that directly funds NEEA
under the terms of the Business Plan.
• Indirect funder - A preference customer of
BPA who is not a direct funder to NEEA
or is an investor owned utility that funds
NEEA through the Energy Trust of Oregon.
Infrastructure: An integrated set of resources that
NEEA helps develop to support utilities and the
market in building market capability, awareness
and demand for energy-efficient products and
practices. Infrastructure provides resources that
funders and market partners can leverage to
address market barriers and support long-term
market transformation across multiple markets
and programs.
Market Intelligence: The systematic and
objective identification, collection, analysis, and
dissemination of data, information, and insight
for assisting decision making to advance and
report progress of energy efficiency and market
transformation. This definition covers evaluation,
research, and regional studies, as well as the
functional area of market intelligence at NEEA.
Market Transformation: The strategic process of
intervening in a market to create lasting change
in market behavior by removing identified barriers
and/or exploiting opportunities to accelerate the
adoption of all cost-effective energy efficiency as a
matter of standard practice.
NEEA’s Board of Directors has defined the following
set of key terms, in the context of the 2020–2024
Strategic and Business Planning process:
Alliance: Regional Market Transformation collaboration, including staff and activities of all organizations that fund NEEA, as well as the direct efforts and staff of NEEA.
Basic Research: A systematic study, generally the first step in research and development, aimed at gaining more understanding of the fundamental aspects of a concept or a phenomenon, without directed applications toward products. National Labs conduct this type of research.
Business Plan: Builds on the Strategic Plan and serves as a funder prospectus that outlines value delivery activities and resources required to achieve performance metrics. The five-year Business Plan includes performance metrics (i.e. energy savings estimates), and budget guidelines. The Business Plan is reviewed on an annual basis to ensure NEEA is pursing the optimal portfolio and other pursuits consistent with NEEA’s Purpose.
Complementary Approach: The alliance supports utilities’ local program activities, and in turn local program activities support regional work. NEEA recognizes the importance of the utility/customer relationships, and focuses on efforts that reduce and/or remove market barriers, primarily upstream and midstream and on readiness of market transforming energy efficiency for best overall value and sustained market change.
Core Funding: The amount of income necessary
to execute and achieve the results of an approved
Business Plan.
Downstream Marketing: Region-wide marketing
activities to promote energy efficient products/
services/practices in the NEEA portfolio directly
to end-use customers, including digital ads,
purchased social, billboards and print, broadcast
(radio/tv), point of purchase and direct mail
where NEEA may use a market-facing brand.
1. “Downstream marketing activities” do
not include marketing to midstream and
upstream partners—including installer
base, distributors, and manufacturers.)
2. Recognizing that direct mail is a sensitive tactic, direct mail will be de-prioritized as a NEEA marketing tactic and will only be conducted under the following conditions:
i. When there is a special opportunity to
support a program. These opportunities
will be coordinated with RPAC through
the downstream coordination process.
ii. As part of promotions undertaken in partnership with a manufacturer using the manufacturer brand.
Energy Efficiency or Energy and Capacity Savings: A reduction of energy consumption (MWh) and/or reduction of demand (MW) on the customer side of the meter.
Equity: Balance the portfolio of work to deliver value equitably across the region, recognizing the needs of stakeholders in all four states and in both rural and urban settings. Address and balance the needs of both large and small utilities and other energy efficiency organizations. The balance will include a mix of region-wide and limited geographic opportunities as well as operational differences, such as the rate of market transformation and product adoption across the region.
KEY TERMS | 147
Markets: These are actual or virtual places where forces of demand and supply operate, and where buyers and sellers interact (directly or through intermediaries) to trade goods, services or contracts or instruments, for money or barter. The specific markets for which NEEA sees a long-term opportunity to help the region achieve energy efficiency goals through market transformation work and regional leverage are identified in the Business Plan.
Material: A deviation from approved Operations Plan budget is considered “material” if it is outside of the scope of the plan or inconsistent with NEEA’s Financial Management Policy.
Montana: As referenced in these Plans, Montana represents NorthWestern Energy and the Western Montana public utilities served by the Bonneville Power Administration.
Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA): The organization and staff employed by the organization to facilitate market transformation activities in service to the region.
Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) Staff: Those employed by the organization to facilitate market transformation activities in service to the region.
Northwest Region (The Region): The four states: Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington and those parts of California, Nevada and Wyoming that receive electric utility services through preference customers of BPA.
Operational Efficiency: The ratio of service realized (work performed) to energy/resources expended.
Operations Plan: The detailed annual plan and budget based on the five-year Business Plan. The Board of Directors approves the annual Operations Plan, which links key strategies to specific initiatives, performance metrics and milestones and provides input to management systems to ensure delivery of the annual goals and objectives.
Portfolio: The grouping of all market transformation investments including scanning energy efficient emerging technologies, concept, product and market testing, market development, evaluation, and long-term market tracking activities.
Primary Research: Techniques of original data collection or research direct from the target respondents. Primary research includes qualitative and quantitative research and can include surveys, focus groups, questionnaires, and interviews. May not have broad applicability.
Prioritization: As in the “prioritized Portfolio of initiatives” – determined by the Board in the Operations Plans and by consensus of the Regional Portfolio Advisory Committee (RPAC), who the Board has chartered to prioritize and advance market transformation programs through the Initiative Lifecycle process, using established portfolio criteria.
RPAC+: Refers to RPAC members, the natural
gas direct funders (NW Natural and Cascade
Natural Gas Corporation), plus any marketing or
program staff considered relevant by funders.
Rules of Engagement:
1. NEEA will jointly develop a local/regional
Funder Coordination Plan and clearly defined
roles and responsibilities in collaboration with
funders as part of the program business case
prior to each milestone decision.
2. NEEA will not engage with market actors in a funding utilities’ territory without approval as detailed in the approved program business case.
3. NEEA will not engage with or market directly
to utility customers unless the activities are
approved as part of the program business case.
4. NEEA will ask local utilities to work with NEEA to identify potential areas of overlap with local market actors early in initiative planning/design to avoid conflict/surprises.
Secondary Research: Involves the summary, collation and/or synthesis of existing research. Secondary research is contrasted with primary research in that primary research involves the generation of data, whereas secondary research uses primary research sources as a source of data for analysis, typically available at a lower cost than primary research. Applicability to NEEA’s region and initiatives will vary. Examples include literature reviews, E-Source inquiries and requests to other owners of research.
Self-Delivery: In lieu of NEEA-delivered
downstream awareness building activities, funders
deliver downstream awareness building activities
in coordination with regional activities and in
support of regional market transformation efforts.
Special Projects: Projects that are funded and operated separately from the core activities that are regionally funded in the Business Plan. Projects are available for funding by qualified parties as determined by the New Strategic Opportunity Screening and Review Guidelines.
2020-2024 | NEEA Business Plan | 148
Strategic Plan: The Strategic Plan identifies long-term goals and objectives determined to be in NEEA’s best interest to pursue and strategies for reaching each goal or objective. The plan defines NEEA’s purpose, core values, business principles, strategic goals and key strategies. The Strategic Plan is a roadmap for achieving NEEA’s vision.
Supply Chain: A system of organizations, people, activities, information, and resources involved in making and moving a product or service from supplier to customer.
• Upstream Channel: Entities that are typically
at least two steps removed from the end-user,
decision maker, or consumer; for example,
manufacturers, standards bodies, national
energy efficiency organizations, code officials,
regulatory agencies (e.g. national agencies
such as Environmental Protection Agency or
U.S. DOE, not utility regulators), distributors,
etc.
• Mid-Stream Channel: Entities that are typically in direct contact with the end-user, decision maker, or consumer; for example, trade allies or contractors, retailers, architects, engineers, etc.
• Downstream Channel: The end-user or end-
user’s agent, or consumer of a technology or
approach.
Voluntary Industry Standard: Equipment
specifications that are agreed to by all or a
significant share of manufacturers that enable or
enhance the level of energy efficiency or reliability
(i.e. communication standards to facilitate
equipment self-reporting and or control).