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 A Time for Thanks
As we start to wind down our 2011 projects, I
wanted to extend a special thank you to my
friends, colleagues, and clients who have made
this our most successful year-ever. It’s an exciting
and hectic time for those of us in the energy
efficiency business, and for that we are truly
blessed. But, I also wanted to thank all of those
who have been so gracious to me during the past
year. As you join family and friends at your
Thanksgiving table, I hope you feel as blessed as
we are.
Thanks!
Katherine, Corine & Diane—Johnson Consulting
Group staff
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Johnson Consulting Group Clients Coast to Coast
It's hard to believe but in just a few short
years, our client list has expanded from sea to shining sea. We are now
finishing up an evaluation project for the Energy Trust of Oregon’s Home
Performance with Energy Star
and starting new work for clients in North Carolina and Maine.
We will also be continuing with work for our natural gas
clients in Virginia as well as providing EM&V workshops in Texas. The
following map summarizes where we’ve been working in the past few years
and we look forward to filling in the rest of the states in the near
future.
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Spotlight on Unique Gas Programs
Even though we conduct program evaluations for
a variety of clients, every so often we come across some really unique
approaches in program design or delivery. Johnson Consulting Group
completed the first-year program evaluations for two innovative programs
targeting natural gas customers:
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 Columbia Gas of Virginia Home Energy Savings
program, which is part of its larger WarmWise Energy Efficiency
Program, combines the traditional online audit with an energy
efficiency kit. The kits are mailed out to customers who complete an
online audit and provide them with easy to install conservation
measures such as low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators. However,
Columbia Gas has gone one step further by reaching into the
community. The utility has partnered with the Richmond ARC, a local
sheltered workshop to provide the packaging and mailing of the
energy efficiency kits. From the very beginning, Columbia Gas wanted
to create a program that would not just benefit their customers but
the larger Richmond community as well.
Katherine and Chris Griffin, Program Manager from Columbia
Gas, will be providing a program update at the upcoming
AESP
Conference in San Diego, CA, February 6-9, 2012.
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 In
Colorado,
SourceGas
mailed out free energy efficiency kits to a critical demographic
target
-- senior citizens. The items in the kit included easy-to-install measures like low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators as
well as an energy savings card. Best of all, the process evaluation
completed earlier this year, demonstrated that the utility achieved
a high measure persistence rate and increased customer satisfaction.
This was truly a “win –win” situation and demonstrates yet another
innovative twist on standard program designs.
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Fun Stuff
Colorado Colors
Katherine
managed to escape to Ouray, CO for a two long weekends in
October. In just seven days the weather changed from the
magnificent autumn colors at their peak to the first snow fall.
Katherine had a great time jeeping through these back-roads and
only got stuck in the mud-once. Check out the
photos!
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Utility Advisory Board to
Launch
EE Programs
The City of Winter Park, where Katherine serves
on the Utility Advisory Board, will be launching its first set of
energy efficiency programs for local citizens. This program
portfolio includes residential and commercial audits to identify
energy conservation needs and a range of rebates designed to
encourage the installation of energy savings measures. The program
will be offered to all Winter Park residents during this first year
and then will be revised as needed. Stay tuned for progress
reports!
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 On
a very personal note: October was Breast Cancer Awareness month, but
it is a year-round battle for too many women (and men). Please
consider continuing to donate to this worthwhile cause year round --
because for too many the fight continues. (Link to American Cancer
Society
Breast Cancer donation webpage.)
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Protocols Continue to Develop
The
staff at Johnson Consulting Group, along with our subcontractor,
Gregg Eisenberg from
Iron Mountain Consulting
has completed a set of EM&V Protocols
for the Arkansas Public Service Commission. These EM&V Protocols
were based on a comprehensive literature review of national "best
practices" and provide the foundation for conducting comprehensive
process and impact evaluations for the seven Arkansas utilities and
the third-party implementers. The protocols were approved in the
Commission's Order
#11 on 9/29/2011.
 The Parties
Working Collaboratively to Docket 10-100-R and
Commission Staff supported the EM&V Protocols unanimously -a
testament to the hard work and dedication by all the members
involved in the EM&V activities in Arkansas.
 Johnson
Consulting Group and Iron Mountain Energy also developed the
first-ever set of process evaluation protocols for New York State.
This project was developed by Mr. William Saxonis of the Department
of Public Utilities and Mr. Nick Hall of TecMarket Works and is managed
by Dr. Patricia Gonzales for the New York Research and Development
Authority (NYSERDA). These process evaluation protocols were also
carefully reviewed by Dr. Jane Peters from Research Into Action as
well as the members of the Evaluation Advisory Group (EAG). Based on
this collaborative effort, Process Evaluation Protocols will fill a
crucial gap in program evaluation guidelines and ensure that the key
findings from process evaluations will not only lead to better
program operations but also provide guidance and direction at the
statewide level.
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Where in the World is Dr. KJ?
* 11/15-16 EM&V
Panel for Texas Energy Efficiency Community, Austin, TX
* 11/30-12/1 Behavioral
Energy Efficiency Conference (BECC), ACEEE, Washington,
DC
* Happy Holidays -
Ouray, CO
* 2/6-9/2012 AESP 22nd National
Conference, San Diego, CA
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Quick Link
Johnson Consulting Group
Website
Click
on the link above to view a list of our
other
publications, services, and clients.
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