Delaware Administrative Code
Title 7 - Natural Resources and Environmental Control
2000 - Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy
2105 - Regulations Governing Evaluation, Measurement, and Verification Procedures and Standards
Section 2105-3.0 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 28, No. 3, September 1, 2024

The following words and terms, when used in this regulation, have the following meaning unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Annual Reconciliation Report" means an annual report submitted by a PA to the EEAC detailing final year-end program outcomes, including program costs, energy savings, and cost-effectiveness results, whether or not programs have been evaluated.

"Baseline" means conditions, including energy consumption and related emissions that would have occurred without implementation of the subject measure or project. Baseline conditions are sometimes referred to as "business-as-usual" conditions and are used to calculate program-related efficiency or emissions savings. Baselines can be defined as either project-specific baselines or performance-standard baselines.

"Biannual Program Snapshot" means a twice-yearly report submitted by a PA to the EEAC with preliminary program savings and spending data.

"Coincident Peak" means the time period of highest system load; for purposes of this regulation, the definition of coincident peak is equivalent to PJM's definition of energy efficiency performance hours under the Reliability Pricing Model (RPM), defined as the hours ending 15:00 through 18:00 Eastern Prevailing Time (EPT) during all days from June 1 through August 31, inclusive, that is not a weekend or federal holiday.

"Deemed Savings" means a measurement of energy savings or demand savings for a single unit of an installed energy efficiency measure or adopted efficiency practice that (a) is determined ex ante and applied to all such measures without further measurement or verification, and (b) has been developed from data sources and analytical methods that are widely considered acceptable for the measure and purpose.

"Demand Response (DR)" means the temporary reduction of customer energy usage at times of peak usage in order to help system reliability, to reflect market conditions and pricing, or to support infrastructure optimization or deferral of additional infrastructure. Demand response programs may include contractually obligated or voluntary curtailment, direct load control, and pricing strategies.

"Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC)" means the entity established by 29 Del.C. § 8001.

"Effective Useful Life (EUL)" means the average time over which an energy efficiency measure results in energy savings, including the effects of equipment failure, removal, and cessation of use. The Mid-Atlantic TRM shall be the primary source of EUL data.

"Energy Efficiency Advisory Council (EEAC or Council)" means the body created by 29 Del.C. § 8059 (h)(1)(a).

"Energy Efficiency (EE) Programs" means energy efficiency, peak demand reduction, and emission-reducing fuel switching programs which seek to decrease consumption of electric energy or natural gas.

"Equivalent Energy Efficiency Measure" means reductions in the use of fossil fuel other than natural gas or use of other sources of energy not derived from fossil fuel equivalent to a reduction in natural gas consumption or electricity consumption. This excludes all solar photovoltaic, wind, ocean, geothermal, hydroelectric, and other on-site generation except when part of a system that reduces total end-use customer energy consumption, such as with combined heat and power systems.

"Evaluation" means the performance of studies and activities aimed at determining the effects of an efficiency program.

"Evaluation, Measurement and Verification (EM&V)" means any and all independent research and analytical activities occurring during or after implementation of efficiency programs intended to assess or estimate the accuracy of measure or program impacts, or assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of the program design and implementation.

"Ex-Post Evaluated Savings" means savings estimates developed and reported by an Independent Evaluation Contractor (IEC) resulting from an energy impact evaluation of past efficiency program activity. These can be either gross or net savings, as defined in this section.

"Free riders" mean participants who participate in a program, but who would have adopted some or all of the efficiency measures without the benefits of the program.

"Gross Savings" means the change in energy consumption and/or demand that results directly from program-related actions taken by participants in a program, regardless of whether the savings are ultimately attributable to the program. Gross savings may be deemed per unit based on ex-ante estimates or evaluated ex-post results.

"Impact Evaluation" means an evaluation that quantifies the direct and indirect results and benefits of a program or project using measured or deemed savings methods.

"Independent Evaluation Contractor (IEC)" means a contractor hired by a Program Administrator to perform evaluation activities and products.

"Market Effect" means the change in the structure or functioning of a market, or the behavior of participants in a market, that results, or is expected to result, from one or more program efforts.

" Mid-Atlantic TRM" means the Technical Reference Manual applicable to select states within the Mid-Atlantic region, which is developed collaboratively by participating members in the Mid-Atlantic region.

"Net Present Value (NPV)" means the value of a stream of future costs and/or benefits converted to a single sum in a specific year, usually the first year of the analysis, using a discount rate as specified in these regulations. It can also be thought of as the equivalent worth of all costs and benefits relative to a base point called the "present." NPV takes into account the time value of money by discounting future streams of costs and benefits.

"Net Savings" means (Gross Savings) - (savings attributable to Free Riders) + (savings attributable to Spillover) + (savings attributable to Market Effects). Net savings are the energy savings that are attributable to a program's intervention in the market, exclusive of other reasons for changes in energy use.

" Net-to-Gross Ratio (NTG)" means a factor or ratio representing Net Savings divided by Gross Savings.

"PJM" means PJM Interconnection LLC, the organization that manages electricity transmission and wholesale electricity market for the region that serves Delaware or its successor at law.

"Process Evaluation" means an evaluation that indicates how to improve the structure and delivery of a program or project. These evaluations typically survey program stakeholders, analyze their feedback, and use this information to identify opportunities for program improvement.

"Program Administrator (PA)" means any affected energy providers, as defined by 29 Del.C. § 8059 (h) and any other entities who deliver energy efficiency programs and want the energy savings generated to count towards the statewide energy reduction goals.

"Program Year" means the annual regulatory period for which an approved program operates, and aligns with the program annual budget and impact targets. In Delaware, the energy efficiency program year runs from January 1 through December 31.

"Public Advocate" means the entity established by 29 Del.C. § 8716.

"Public Service Commission (PSC)" means the entity established by 26 Del.C. § 103.

"Realization Rate" means the ratio of evaluated Gross Savings to initial pre-evaluation claimed Gross Savings. The basis for a realization rate varying from 1.0 can include several considerations such as the following:

"Reliability Pricing Model (RPM)" means PJM's capacity market.

"Renewable Energy Credit (REC)" means a tradable instrument defined by 26 Del.C. § 352 (18) used to demonstrate compliance with the percentage requirements set forth in 26 Del.C. § 354 (a).

"Rigor" means the level of effort expended to minimize uncertainty due to factors such as sampling error and bias. The higher the level of rigor, the more confident one is that the results of the evaluation are both accurate and precise.

"Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC)" means the tradable instrument defined by 26 Del.C. § 352 (25) used to demonstrate compliance with the percentage requirements set forth in 26 Del.C. § 354 (a).

"Spillover (free drivers)" means EE or DR measures that are not directly counted as resulting from program participation, but are taken as a result of the program's influence on customers or markets. There are two general types of spillover:

"Technical Reference Manual (TRM)" means an operating manual that describes the standardized approaches to be used for estimating savings from the installation of energy efficiency measures or adoption of efficiency practices. It provides a common comparable approach for estimating energy savings across programs and market sectors for the measures typically installed via the energy efficiency programs.

"Three-Year EM&V Plan" means a plan submitted by a PA to the EEAC detailing the proposed evaluation approaches that will be used to demonstrate that the PA's efficiency programs meet the requirement of these regulations.

"Verification" means an independent ex-post assessment of an energy efficiency or demand response program that confirms: