Page 203 - Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

Life Cycle Analysis Chapter j 10 177

Security and Reliability Act of 2000 (AB970) directed the CPUC to establish,
by the Spring of 2001, a distribution charge to provide revenues for a self-
generation program and a directive to consider changes to cost-effectiveness
methods to better account for reliability concerns.
In the Spring of 2001, a new state agencydthe Consumer Power and
Conservation Financing Authoritydwas created. This agency was expected to
provide additional revenuesdin the form of state revenue bondsdthat could
supplement the amount and type of public financial resources to finance
energy efficiency and self-generation activities. By 2003, the agency closed
due to lack of demand for funds.
1
The modifications to the SPM reflect these more recent developments in
several ways. First, the “Utility Cost Test” has been renamed the “Program
Administrator Test” to include the assessment of programs managed by other
agencies. Second, a definition of self-generation as a type of “demand-side”
activity is included. Third, the description of the various potential elements of
“externalities” in the Societal version of the TRC Test is expanded. Finally, the
Limitations section outlines the scope of the manual and elaborates upon the
processes traditionally instituted by the implementing agencies to adopt values
for these externalities and to adopt the policy rules that accompany the manual.

Demand-Side Management Categories and Program Definitions

One important aspect of establishing standardized procedures for cost-
effectiveness evaluations is the development and use of consistent defini-
tions of categories, programs, and program elements.
This chapter uses the general program categories that distinguish between
different types of demand-side management (DSM) programsdconservation,
load management, fuel substitution, load building, and self-generation. Con-
servation programs reduce electricity and/or natural gas consumption during
all or significant portions of the year. “Conservation” in this context includes
all “energy efficiency improvements.” An energy efficiency improvement can
be defined as reduced energy use for a comparable level of service, resulting
from the installation of an energy efficiency measure or the adoption of an
energy efficiency practice. The level of service may be expressed in such ways
as the volume of a refrigerator, temperature levels, production output of a
manufacturing facility, or lighting level per square foot. Load management
programs may either reduce electricity peak demand or shift the demand from
on-peak to nonpeak periods.

1. Over 50 state analyses and experts participated in the Standard Practices Manual revision. They
are listed in the Appendix. The revision of the SPM was truly a collaborative effort that lasted
over 8 months but resulted in significant accounting and analytical changes for projects and
programs in California.