Ranking an effort to cut energy use

Jul 9 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Alan Yonan Jr. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Hawaii's main energy efficiency and conservation program -- initially focused primarily on hardware upgrades such as compact fluorescent bulbs, Energy Star appliances and air conditioning retrofits -- is now getting some help from behavioral scientists in its mission to cut the state's electricity consumption.

In its first three years of existence, the Hawaii Energy program has had success with using cash rebates to persuade residents and businesses to invest in more energy-efficient technology.

The program helped reduce electricity usage by 142 million kilowatt-hours, the equivalent consumption of about 20,000 homes, in fiscal 2010, the most recent period for which data are available. The reduction translated into $48.1 million in customer savings, according to Hawaii Energy, which is run by Science Applications International Corp. under a contract with the state Public Utilities Commission. Hawaii Energy, which operates on all islands except Kauai, is funded through a fee on electricity bills.

While rebates will continue to be a mainstay for Hawaii Energy, it has begun to push consumers harder to cut energy waste. The centerpiece of the new initiative is a product called a Home Energy Report, which allows electric utility customers to anonymously compare their energy use with that of their neighbors. The reports are mailed to residents and also made available online.

Since its launch on Oahu in May 2011, the "peer comparison" program has resulted in a 1.5 percent reduction in energy use, or about $500,000 off the energy bills of the 15,000 Hawaiian Electric Co. residential customers who participated, according to officials from Virginia-based Opower, which was hired by Hawaii Energy to conduct the Home Energy Reports.

The program was recently expanded to 62,000 residential utility customers on Hawaii island, Maui, Lanai and Molokai.

"Hawaii is a place where energy prices are high enough that people have already done the things that are the easiest to cut their bills," said Emily Bailard, a San Francisco-based Opower manager who oversees the company's work in Hawaii. "It will be harder to get them to hang their laundry out to dry or unplug their electronics," she said. The bulk of the conservation recommendations made by Opower, such as using air conditioning more sparingly, properly setting water heater timers and using advanced power strips, can be done for free or at a low cost, Bailard said.

Opower's staff includes behavioral scientists who work with company statisticians and marketing professionals to refine the Home Energy Report and improve the response of participants, Bailard said.

In addition to offering energy-saving tips, the Home Energy Report ranks participants against 99 anonymous neighbors living in homes of similar size and construction type. A rank of 1 indicates the lowest energy use, while 100 indicates the highest.

"We've found that showing people their rank is incredibly effective," Bailard said. Opower's research shows that participants who have above-average energy use are the ones who save the most from the program.

Opower was founded in 2007 by Daniel Yates and Alex Laskey, who saw a need for more "demand side" solutions to go along with the development of renewable energy technologies in the effort to reduce greenhouse emissions, said Ogi Kavazovic, Opower vice president of strategy and marketing.

"At that time using behavioral science as a way to communicate to customers in any industry was very cutting-edge," Kavazovic said.

"It's about keeping up with the Joneses. It's about using techniques to get people to pay attention," he said. "People for the most part know what they need to do to conserve energy."

Behavioral changes induced by Opower's Home Energy Reports save 7 million households in North America an estimated 1.4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, he said.

The Home Energy Report is part of Hawaii Energy's broader effort to "educate and motivate ratepayers" to implement more aggressive energy conservation measures, according to its latest annual report. Hawaii Energy is playing a leading role in helping the state achieve the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative goal of reducing total electric energy usage by 4.3 billion kilowatt-hours by 2030.

"The program will do this in part by introducing a broad transformational education effort aimed at teaching conservation and efficiency practices and instilling a sense of personal awareness and responsibility for individual energy behavior," according to the annual report.

Michael Chang, Hawaii Energy's deputy program manager, likened the peer comparison component of the Home Energy Report to the thought process of motorists comparing the mileage of their vehicles.

"It's all about awareness. Every one knows what their car's gas mileage is. When you're driving down the street, you're thinking, 'I'm better than him, I'm worse than him.' But when you go home and look around your neighborhood, you have no clue. With this report it brings that to the table."