Keywords

Abstract

This paper describes the new avoided cost estimates developed by the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC), the fundamental methodology for developing the estimates, and the guiding principles of their development. The new avoided costs are an update to the CPUC’s Energy Efficiency Policy Manual and apply to efficiency programs funded with the electricity and natural gas Public Goods Charge (PGC) funds. The paper concludes that time- and areavarying avoided cost estimates can provide more accurate signals to guide investment in energy efficiency than do statewide average avoided costs. California has proposed new avoided costs based on this principle, and similar updates to avoided costs could be made for other states with their own climates, markets, and customers.

Paper

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Panels of the 2004 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings

Panel 1. Residential Buildings: Technologies, Design, Performance Analysis, and Building Industry Trends

Panel 2. Residential Buildings: Program Design, Implementation, and Evaluation

Panel 3. Commercial Buildings: Technologies, Design, Performance Analysis, and Building Industry Trends

Panel 4. Commercial Buildings: Program Design, Implementation, and Evaluation

Panel 5. Utility Regulation and Deregulation: Incentives, Strategies, and Policies

Panel 6. Market Transformation: Designing for Lasting Change

Panel 7. Human and Social Dimensions of Energy Use: Trends and Their Implications

Panel 8. Energy and Environmental Policy: Changing the Climate for Energy Efficiency

Panel 9. Efficient Buildings in Efficient Communities

Panel 10. Roundtables: Thinking Outside the Box

Panel 11. Appliances and Equipment