Energy efficiency programs secure energy savings through various strategies such as audits, retrofits, training for building tradespeople, “people-centred” or behavioural efficiency strategies, and customized industrial programs. Natural gas and electric utilities, governments and government agencies, and energy efficiency utilities or third parties such as Efficiency Nova Scotia and efficiencyPEI administer these programs.
These entities generally develop and deliver programs under a regulatory framework that recognizes efficiency as an energy-system resource on par with power plants, wind turbines, transmission lines, and similar infrastructure. Efficiency resources, however, often provide energy services at a much lower cost and at lower risk than new sources of supply, and deliver numerous co-benefits such as improved comfort, more income in the local economy, and reduced energy poverty.
| Policy type | Description |
|---|---|
| Cost-effectiveness testing | Utility regulators and other policymakers can require that the benefits of energy efficiency program portfolios outweigh their costs. There are 5 principle cost-effectiveness tests, according to the California Standard Practice Manual, each including different costs and benefits. |
| Evaluation, measurement and verification | EM&V is important for demonstrating program effectiveness, increasing transparency and building support for energy efficiency programming. |
| Indigenous communities | Provincial programming for indigenous communities can build relationships with specific Nations and/or outreach to urban communities through organizations such as Friendship Centres. Provinces may introduce legislative or regulatory requirements to develop programming in partnership with Indigenous peoples, implement provisions in cost-effectiveness testing procedures to remove regulatory barriers, and establish stable, long-term funding arrangements to support these initiatives. |
| Long-term energy efficiency targets | Energy efficiency targets give clear direction to program administrators and energy system managers, pushing them to achieve higher savings than they might otherwise, and reinforcing the concept of efficiency as a quantifiable resource. |
| Low-income programs policy | Specific policy goals and supports are to enable Canadians living in energy poverty to participate in and benefit from energy efficiency initiatives. Provinces may introduce legislative or regulatory requirements to develop programming for lower-income households, implement provisions in cost-effectiveness testing procedures to remove regulatory barriers, and establish stable, long-term funding arrangements to support these initiatives. |
| Program administration | Programs are often administered by natural gas and electric utility companies, but also by governments and dedicated ‘energy efficiency utilities’. |
| Resource planning | Energy efficiency is a quantifiable resource just like natural gas, oil or wind turbines. This item describes policies and procedures in each jurisdiction that formalize energy efficiency in energy resource planning. |