In our recent blog post Energy Markets 101: Regional Transmission Organizations, Independent System Operators and Energy Efficiency we discussed Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs), Independent System Operators (ISOs) and wholesale electricity markets. If you’re not familiar with the RTOs and their capacity markets, go back and read Part 1. In this follow up, we’ll dive into how energy efficiency has historically participated in PJM’s capacity market and recent complaints filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in more detail.

We all know that the cheapest kilowatt is the one not used, but how is energy efficiency actually valued? The organizations that operate electricity markets, the Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs) have a large hand in customer rates and therefore, the price of energy efficiency. With that in mind, we thought it would be a great time to discuss RTOs, ISOs and the structure of our energy markets.

In June, more than 100 MEEA members gathered in St. Louis, MO for a workforce development workshop led by Quinn Parker, Founder and CEO, Encolor and Paul Douglas, President, JPI Group.

Our curious readers might be itching to know if MEEA is at the forefront of the distributional equity analysis (DEA) implementation effort, so I’m happy to share that we are participating in a DEA case study taking place in Illinois! The case study, funded by the Joyce Foundation and E4TheFuture, consists of team members from E4TheFuture, Synapse Energy Economics and MEEA.

We’re seeing a lot of positive movement across the energy landscape, especially regarding electric and gas utilities. There’s a lot of available funding and new policies being proposed and passed, highlighting energy efficiency as a major goal across the country. With opportunities beckoning and energy system improvements seemingly just around the corner, it can be hard to resist the urge to strike while the iron is hot. However, all communities in the Midwest will be unable to reap the benefits of energy efficiency without an intentional reflection on how these proposed energy system changes affect different customers and communities.   

Off-site construction can decrease project time by 50% (Page 3) due to industrialization of the building components and the ability to complete site work, such as laying the foundation, concurrently. These time-saving benefits are lost, however, when there is uncertainty about who or how these structures and processes are inspected and deployed. Since the process of how these structures get commissioned varies from state to state and even city to city, each new project may encounter its own set of hurdles.  

This year's Midwest Energy Solutions Conference (MES) incorporated interactive workshops into its agenda for the first time ever, and one of the three workshops focused on Net Zero Energy (NZE) in the Midwest. MEEA staff wanted attendees to consider what Net Zero Energy means for energy efficiency (EE) in the Midwest specifically. (For the purposes of the workshop, “NZE” was referring to any building, development or community that does not use more energy than it produces. See DOE’s NZE definitions).

To most outsiders, the world of energy efficiency probably appears static with slow, incremental changes. A furnace rebate here, light bulb swap-out there, maybe an updated building energy code every few years. But it should come as no surprise to industry insiders that this isn’t the case at all. An explosion of new technology across every part of our economy is rapidly changing our energy savings goals and the ways we identify and capture those savings.

One August afternoon, a few MEEAites embarked on a recon mission to gather data on smart devices in two major retailers of home appliances. Sadly, the budget didn’t approve our request for black turtlenecks and spy gear, so we had to make do with business casual.

Our goal was to get a general idea of what type of technology comes with today’s appliances that are commonly available to the public. As MEEA sets out to not only understand, but also influence on the world of intelligent efficiency, we have recently found ourselves arriving at the same question that starts at the consumer: What do customers experience today when buying new home appliances?

On June 16, MEEA hosted its annual Meeting of the Membership in Rosemont, Illinois just a few miles outside of Chicago. This event was another opportunity for MEEA's members, board and staff to come together to see old friends, make new connections and discuss what’s new in the field of energy efficiency. New board members were elected, and the latest Annual Report was unveiled. It was also a great venue for MEEA to get feedback on what we can do to add value to and improve the member experience.