CEE Launches 2018–2020 Work Effort
March 30, 2018
Efficiency program administrators have long identified the need to determine relative program performance and best practices through a methodology backed by credible data, normalized to account for differences in utility reporting practices. Since 2013, Consortium for Energy Efficiency members have put their trusted relationships to work to achieve just that. CEE Program Performance Benchmarking participants have developed a benchmarking framework composed of key indicators of program performance. They have further tested this framework through data supplied by the project’s 12 sponsoring organizations.
Now, as members actualize this unique industry resource for credible interprogram comparison and evaluation, they are actively seeking out new participants. Sponsoring members contribute their data, expertise, and insights to the project—all while gaining access to the benchmarking tool and data set itself.
"CEE Program Performance Benchmarking serves as a pragmatic tool to help program administrators avoid reliance on subjective and expensive localized representations and establish a reliable empirical basis to drive introspection," says CEE board member John Boladian of DTE Energy.
The Program Performance Benchmarking project team has used a systematic and iterative process to identify and define metrics that allow for credible comparison of program performance. Participants validated this benchmarking framework, comprised of nine modules used to describe key program administrator characteristics such as operating environment, regulatory treatment, number of customers, and other elements characterizing program performance. Using this framework, they identified program areas suitable for benchmarking, developed metric definitions with sufficient specificity to facilitate the collection of similar information from peers, and prioritized relevant metrics suitable for each program area.
By joining Program Performance Benchmarking, CEE member administrators increase the value of the data—and benefit from the groundbreaking work of the original sponsors to achieve valuable insight into their own programs. These reliable, credible comparisons are now available through CEE and nowhere else.
The Program Performance Benchmarking process is already yielding surprising insights. Programs may have long assumed that increasing incentive spending leads to higher savings levels—but does the data bear it out? Does relying more on external delivery really increase program costs? These and other assumptions can now be empirically investigated by project sponsors. The CEE Program Performance Benchmarking tool is a valuable resource for program administrators to use to assess the critical factors of program performance and carry out empirical comparisons to improve their program design.
To learn more, or to discuss sponsorship, contact CEE.
