Kansas

Energy Efficiency Standards

Kansas does not have a statewide energy efficiency standard to require utilities to provide energy efficiency programs to their customers.

Resource Planning

The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) does not have general requirements for utilities to conduct integrated resource planning, but it may order IRP filings in specific cases. Individual utilities in Kansas run internal resource planning processes.

The KCC required an IRP as part of the utility merger that created Evergy in 2018. they approved Evergy's IRP filing in 2020, which covers a 10-year planning horizon, and will be repeated every 3 years.

Rate Structures & Incentives

Cost Recovery

The KCC permits electric and natural gas utilities to implement programs that have been approved, and recover the costs of implementing those programs.

Lost Revenue Recovery

The KCC may allow the recovery of lost revenues associated with demand-side programs.

Utility Incentives

Kansas does not have specific incentives for energy efficiency portfolio performance by utilities.  The KCC considers proposals for shared savings performance incentive plans where they are tied to specific energy efficiency programs the commission believes most desirable.

For example, the commission approved Westar Energy’s Shared Savings mechanism.

Noncompliance Penalties

There are no penalties for utilities in Kansas that do not meet their energy efficiency goals. Kansas does not have a statewide energy efficiency standard and utility energy efficiency programs are approved on a case-by-case basis.

Program Evaluation

Cost Effectiveness Testing

Kansas utilities use all of the standard benefit-cost tests for evaluating their voluntary energy efficiency programs. The primary test used is the Total Resource Cost (TRC) test.

Net vs. Gross

Kansas utilities, in reporting on their energy efficiency programs to the commission, report net savings and include the measurement of free-riders (but not spillover) in their net savings calculation.

Technical Resource Manual

Kansas does not have a statewide TRM for energy efficiency program design and evaluation.

State Energy Plan or Vision

The Kansas Energy Council (KEC) was established by executive order by Governor Sibelius in 2004 and dissolved by executive order in 2008. Among its duties, it produced the Kansas Energy Plan, later renamed the Kansas Energy Report, which provided background on energy topics and annual policy recommendations. There does not appear to be any successor to the KEC currently active in Kansas.

State Agency Energy Reduction Requirement

Kansas requires all state-owned buildings to undergo an energy audit at least every five years to identify excessive energy usage. For leased buildings, an energy audit is required before state agencies may approve new leases or renew existing leases.

The state operates the Facility Conservation Improvement Program (FCIP), which promotes and facilitates energy-saving projects in public buildings, such as schools, city offices, courthouses and other facilities. Established by the state in 2000, the FCIP helps local governments, school districts, universities and others implement energy-efficiency and deferred-maintenance projects with no upfront capital expenditures. Taken together, FCIP projects are saving cities, counties, school districts, universities-and Kansas taxpayers-more than $20 million each year.

EE in New State Buildings

All state-owned buildings are required to undergo an energy audit at least every five years to identify excessive energy usage; for leased buildings, an energy audit is required before state agencies may approve new leases or renew existing leases. Kansas also prescribes energy efficiency performance standards for new construction and renovations, wherever feasible to ensure the buildings meet energy efficiency levels of IECC 2006 or the equivalent ASHRAE standard.

In addition, the Facility Conservation Improvement Program (FCIP) at the KCC FCIP Energy Division is directed to (1) implement cost-effective conservation and efficiency measures in all state-owned buildings; (2) accelerate efforts to market FCIP to school districts and local governments; and (3) review all state construction projects, both new and remodeling, that exceed $100,000 for possible inclusion in FCIP, including Kansas Board of Regents university facilities.

Key Policymaker Contacts