Wednesday, April 24, 2019
10:00am – 12:00pm
Pre-Forum Workshop (for Utility and Government Attendees Only)
Session Co-Chairs: Paul Reid, Azusa Light & Water, and Adrianne Rogers, City of Colton Electric Utility
Candid roundtable discussion on current issues, including these highest-ranked responses to a recent survey of registrants:
- Electrification Opportunities and Challenges
- New Technologies: Smart Devices and Automation
- Solar: What's Changing?
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Lunch Buffet - hosted by ARCA Incorporated
12:45pm – 1:00pm
First-timer Orientation and Welcome
If you've never attended the Utility Energy Forum, don't miss this quick session to hear from "veterans" how you can make the most of your Forum experience!
1:00pm – 1:15pm
Welcoming Remarks
Mary Medeiros McEnroe, Silicon Valley Power
1:15pm – 2:15pm
Opening Keynote -- Creating Connected and Resilient Communities
George Karayannis, Panasonic CityNOW - Presentation
Communities across the country are increasingly susceptible to extended service disruption as the result of increasingly extreme and frequent weather-related events. Leading cities, real estate developers and utilities are now coming together to create innovative public-private partnerships that provide enhanced community resiliency for single family, multi-family and mixed use developments. Learn what Panasonic is doing at Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town in Japan, and at Pena Station NEXT in Denver, to help align stakeholders to increase community sustainability and resiliency.
2:15pm – 2:45pm
Networking Break and Energy Quiz
Quiz Emcee: Graham Parker, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
2:45pm – 4:15pm
Strategic/Policy View - A 100% Clean Electricity Future and its Impact on Utilities
Session Co-Chairs: Liz Anderson, Washington PUD Association and Mary Medeiros McEnroe, Silicon Valley Power
This panel will share their perspectives on the trend toward adopting a 100% clean energy standard, if it is achievable, and how it will impact utilities and shape our future.
- George Caan, Washington PUD Association
- Barry Moline, California Municipal Utilities Association
- Delia Patterson of American Public Power Association - Presentation
4:15pm – 5:15pm
Meet the Exhibitors
Session Co-Chairs: Dennis Guido, Staples & Associates and Mark Gosvener, ESG
5:15pm
Adjourn
5:15pm – 6:15pm
Reception
6:30pm
Dinner - hosted by RHA
8:00pm
Networking Campfire
Unwind at a casual gathering around the fire ring to reflect on the day's discussion and look ahead to tomorrow.
Thursday, April 25, 2019
7:30am – 8:30am
Breakfast Buffet
8:30am – 10:00am
Electric Vehicles & Electrification
Session Co-Chairs: Mary Medeiros McEnroe, Silicon Valley Power, and Dan Kay, Grays Harbor PUD
- Partnering with EV Customers For Deeper Understanding of Driving and Changing Behaviors
Kathy Knoop, Salt River Project - Presentation
- More than Just Toys for the Rich: Designing EV Programs to Serve Low-Income Customers
Bryan Jungers, E Source - Presentation
- Electrifying Homes in California: the Consumer Cost Perspective
Charles Li, Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc. (E3) - Presentation
10:00am – 10:30am
Networking Break with Energy Quiz
Quiz Emcee: Graham Parker, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
10:30am – 12:00pm
Customer View
Session Co-Chairs: Nathan Aronson, Redding Electric Utility and Mary Medeiros McEnroe, Silicon Valley Power
- Managing Energy Use: The County of San Luis Obispo’s Approach
Annie Secrest, The County of San Luis Obispo - Presentation
- Building Off-Grid
Ron Horstman of RWH Ventures, Inc. - Presentation
- Getting to 100: The quest for 100% renewable electricity
Alelia Parenteau, City of Santa Barbara - Presentation
12:00pm – 1:00pm - hosted by Bronto Skylift
Lunch Buffet
1:00pm – 2:00pm
Midpoint Keynote - The Revolution will be Decarbonized
Panama Bartholomy, Building Decarbonization Coalition - Presentation
California is going through one of its most seismic shifts in building energy policy and design. The move towards full decarbonization of the building stock has started and the policy, technical and financial implications are being developed under our feet. Come hear from an active participant in the discussion working on the policies, programs and projects leading this shift. Panama will discuss where we are, where we are going and what it means for utilities.
2:00pm – 3:30pm
Technology View
Session Co-Chairs: Christopher Dymond, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and Graham Parker, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Luminaire Level Lighting Controls: A New Technology in Lighting
Chris Wolgamott from Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance - Presentation
- The Top Twelve Technologies to Track (T6)
Graham Parker, Graham Parker & Associates, LLC - Presentation
- Lessons Learned at the Stone Edge Farm Microgrid: Building a Modular Multi-Energy System
Dr. Jorge Elizondo, Helia Technologies - Presentation
- A View Through the Next Generation of High Performance Windows
Stephen Selkowitz, Affiliate, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) - Presentation
3:30pm – 3:45pm
Networking Break and Energy Quiz
Quiz Emcee: Graham Parker, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
3:45pm – 5:15pm
Utility Program Stand-up Challenge
Session Co-Chairs: Cheri Davis, Sacramento Municipal Utility District and David Reynolds, ERS
Join us for the craziest round of concurrent sessions ever! Imagine speed dating meets the lightning round of a TV game show! Visit up to 6 storyboards detailing utility-sponsored energy programs or research. Each storyboard presenter has up to 5 minutes (plus up to 7 minutes for Q&A) to share with you the program’s goals, successes and lessons learned. A bell rings, you choose another storyboard, and the 12-minute clock starts again. We will break the event up into two segments, with a short intermission to set up new storyboards at the midpoint.
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The Power of Shade Trees -- Amy Young, Sacramento Municipal Utility District
SMUD's Sacramento Shade program was established in 1990 with the goal of helping customers save money on their electric bill by providing free shade trees, allowing customers to cool their home naturally, not with their AC unit. With increasingly stringent Title 24 requirements, smaller lot sizes and the popularity of solar, providing shade trees to customers has become increasingly difficult. SMUD is continuing its partnership with the Sacramento Tree Foundation to provide every customer their best urban forest by redesigning this long-standing program and measuring ALL the benefits of trees. By reaching out to underserved areas and expanding the reach into the community, SMUD hopes to not only grow the canopy of Sacramento but also grow the community. For generations to come customers will be able to enjoy the benefits of these trees, beautifying their neighborhoods, cleaning their air and reducing the urban heat island effect.
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Stop Leaking Profits! Taking a Fresh Look at Power Factor Correction -- Joe Flores, Burbank Water & Power and Gabriel Peredo, RHA
Is your utility leaking profits? The old, but reliable, technique of power factor correction is often overlooked among the waves of new energy efficiency technologies. However, optimizing your system with power factor correction may help avoid the capital costs associated with larger conductors and higher capacity equipment, and the headaches associated with electrical losses and lower voltages. In this poster we will explore how proper evaluation, measurement and verification in conjunction with power factor correction can help plug these energy leaks, leading to greater profitability and system optimization.
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Decarbonization in the Home Kitchen -- Cheri Davis, Sacramento Municipal Utility District and Richard Young, Food Service Technology Center
No end use in the home is more challenging to decarbonize than cooking. Home cooks know from experience that gas is superior to electric resistance, and though induction offers many benefits over gas, convincing customers to try another electric technology is a challenge. SMUD partnered with the Food Service Technology Center to run standardized testing on gas, electric resistance, and induction cooktops to measures both energy use and cooking performance. Armed with this new data, SMUD is reaching out to its customer base through social media and targeted marketing in an effort to educate its customer base about the benefits of induction cooking. Join us as we present our research findings and our preliminary customer messaging tests.
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Lessons Learned from Silicon Valley Power's Small Business Exterior Lighting Program -- Mary Medeiros McEnroe, Silicon Valley Power and Mark Gosvener, Efficiency Services Group
Small business customers are busy focusing on running their business and typically don’t have time to focus on energy efficiency, which makes them a “hard to reach” market for utilities. And exterior lighting is often one of the last things they look at, but there can be a big savings potential. Silicon Valley Power's (SVP) Exterior Lighting Program has been successful in getting small business owners to upgrade their exterior lighting to LEDs, but it has not been without its challenges! In partnership with Efficiency Services Group (ESG), SVP has implemented a quasi-direct install exterior lighting program with a unique approach to this hard to reach market segment. Come learn how we engaged customers to upgrade their lighting and hear about the lessons we learned along the way.
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Commercial Kitchen Plug Load Study Results – Efficient Electrification -- Richard Young, The Food Service Technology Center
Plug loads are not just for homes and office buildings – commercial kitchens are also full of plug loads, many of which are much more energy intensive than anything found in the home or office. The typical commercial foodservice plug load, including conveyor toasters, soup warmers, hot wells, heat strips, coffee makers, espresso machines, drawer warmers and hot plates, are simple and primitive devices built around resistance heating elements. As other pieces of food service equipment evolved, these appliances remained unchanged. But, the successful application of induction technology to commercial equipment and the low cost of digital sensing and control is beginning to change the fleet of plug load equipment, offering an inventory of more efficient and higher performance options where none existed before. The Food Service Technology Center is engaged in a three-year lab and field study funded by the California Energy Commission, with additional financial support from Silicon Valley Power, that is testing efficient plug load technologies and proving savings in real world kitchens. This research is especially important as Utilities explore electrification and look for efficient technologies that can help to move this policy forward. This poster session will present some of the initial findings of this study and how this information can be used in Utility efficiency programs.
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Sharing is Caring – It’s Geek’s Life (with Tech Talk) -- Mark Martinez, Southern California Edison and Julie Hayes, Milepost Consulting, SPC
The high energy efficiency and carbon reduction benefits attributed to electric Heat Pump Water Heaters (HPWHs) are well-established, but consumer market adoption at scale continues to be a challenge. In California, carbon reduction goals are driving electric utilities to look to HPWHs for future program commercialization. This poster session will illustrate how Southern California Edison (SCE) is using a cross-pollination strategy to leverage work conducted by other utilities who have piloted commercial HPWHs with real customers. Research and interviews conducted with program implementers such as Bonneville Power Administration, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, Hydro One, and the Electric Power Research Institute are providing SCE with some best practices for program design and customer engagement. Swing by and learn more about the outcomes of this technology transfer strategy and how SCE hopes to be “fast followers” and use these findings to support their carbon reduction goals using HPWHs.
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How Partnerships Can Help your Education Programs Swim, not Sink -- Kapil Kulkarni, Burbank Water and Power
For more than a decade, BWP has partnered with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to offer the Solar Cup program to Burbank high school students. Over the course of a school year, these students learn about teamwork, boat engineering, and mechanical systems to build and race a solar-powered boat against other high school students. These students also develop a public service announcement focusing on water conservation. Learn how BWP participates in this program to provide support to the community and practical education to our future customers and policymakers.
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Curbside EV Charging for Low Income Multifamily -- Jessica Sutorus, City of Colton Electric Utility
EV Charging for multifamily buildings is a challenge many utilities face today, but low-income multifamily can present even greater complexity. The City of Colton Electric Utility partnered with the South Coast Air Quality Management District to install 3 curbside Level II charging stations for multifamily. Come hear how Colton leveraged partnerships with other agencies to design a low income EV program, including marketing, EV rate development, and EV-related rebates for income-eligible customers. The presentation will also discuss lessons learned and cover topics such as vandalism and maintenance.
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Electric Service Outage Management & Communication - Adrianne Rogers, City of Colton Electric Utility
Communicating with utility customers is already difficult but trying to communicate outages and emergencies without an AMI system is even more of a challenge. Come hear about how Colton is overcoming this challenge using DataCapable’s online analytic tool for outage mapping. This is an unique program that allows utilities without an outage management system and without AMI meters, to communicate with customers regarding outage information. The program uses data provided by the public and the field staff through text messages and social media analytics to pinpoint outages within the City of Colton Electric service territory.
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Advanced Air Source Heat Pumps - Christopher Dymond, NEEA
Recent and emerging technology advancements will make residential air source heat pumps increasingly valuable utility energy efficiency and decarbonization measures over the next 10 years. Four changes will be presented and these will likely mean for products and savings. The presenter will cover three big challenges we face in changing the market and two current investigations underway to provide help address these challenges.
5:15pm – 6:15pm
Reception
6:30pm
Dinner
8:00pm
Wine Tasting & Networking
Friday, April 26, 2019
7:30am – 8:30am
Breakfast Buffet
9:00am – 10:15am
Understanding Our Customers
Session Co-Chairs: Ron Horstman, Western Area Power Administration, and Graham Parker, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Getting Plugged In to Customer Insights
Susan Corbelli, Sacramento Municipal Utility District - Presentation
- The Customer Pie – Slicing Data for the Best Outcomes
Liz Jambor, Austin Energy - Presentation
10:15am – 10:30am
Networking Break with Energy Quiz
Quiz Emcee: Graham Parker, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
10:30am – 12:00pm
Utility Programs Snapshot
Session Co-Chairs: Kapil Kulkarni, Burbank Water and Power and Sabrina Barber, Imperial Irrigation District
- Working with Schools to Engage Redding’s Youth
Nathan Aronson, Redding Electric Utility - Presentation
- Home Improvement Program – A Tale of Two Cities
Kapil Kulkarni, Burbank Water & Power - Presentation
Jonathan Sun, Pasadena Water & Power - Presentation
12:00pm
Adjourn
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Lunch