Baseline and Potential Studies

The creation of this DSM Plan has adhered to a rigorous planning process, beginning with a potentials assessment and culminating in program design.

An essential component of any DSM Plan is the assessment of the magnitude of energy savings available in a given service territory. This determination is generally performed by conducting an energy efficiency potential study. Program design and budget allocation decisions are based on the results of such studies. It is therefore critical to understand the elements of a comprehensive energy efficiency potential study.

Since these savings assessments must be realistic, a baseline of energy-usage by fuel type, market sector and end-use must first be derived. AEG is experienced in developing baselines using both primary data collection techniques and secondary sources. Primary research includes customer surveys where a combination of techniques is deployed to capture data at the end-use level from customer premises. These techniques include customer surveys (mail, telephone, on-line) and actual in-field audits of customer facilities. The use of data from secondary sources is also common practice. AEG has developed secondary data using published data from other studies and from governmental (e.g., Department of Energy) web sites.