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The Building Performance Institute, Inc. (BPI) is accepting applications from individuals interested in serving on its Standards Technical Committee (STC). This is an excellent opportunity to represent the utility industry in crafting the national standards used by the residential energy retrofit community.

The standards cover the improvement of energy efficiency, comfort and occupant health and safety and installation of energy conservation and energy-efficiency measures to existing building enclosures and systems. Application standards for these measures, as well as verification and commissioning of improved buildings are also included in the standards.

The STC reviews and takes action on proposals and comments from the general public and regularly updates the standards.  The technical standards are developed in an open, transparent, consensus-based process  built on sound building science. The American National Standards Institute, Inc. (ANSI) approves BPI as an accredited developer of American National Standards.

BPI’s Standards Management Board (SMB) rates applications based on technical expertise, geographic location, experience in the building sciences and willingness to serve. Technical personnel willing to invest the time and energy to develop the technical standards our industry needs should submit an application by Nov. 21 2011.  The SMB will appoint four members each to a three-year term, beginning Jan. 1, 2012.

Free webinar
Nov. 15, noon Central Time

Much of Western’s territory is largely rural, and includes customers who are struggling to continue living and working with the land. Saving Energy on Farms and Ranches, the Clean Energy Ambassadors’ webinar for November, covers programs and resources utilities can use to help them help their agricultural customers. 

Energy costs can make or break a farm or ranch, and the economic health of rural communities often depends on these operations. Fortunately, some innovative power providers have created exciting programs that are helping ranchers and growers reach their energy-efficiency goals and stay in business. Register for this free webinar Nov. 15 to explore examples of utility programs for agriculture that work!

CEA Webinars take place from noon to 1 pm Central time (11 a.m. to noon Mountain) on the third Tuesday of each month. Because they are focused on needs of consumer-owned utilities, the discussion can be specific, candid, and informal. Visit the Clean Energy Ambassadors  to register for this free webinar and to see the full line-up of CEA services and events. If you have any questions please contact Stevie Moe at 406-969-1040.

Dominion Virginia Power recently introduced a program that gives electric vehicle owners a rate break if they charge their cars overnight.

The Richmond Electric Vehicle Initiative, as the pilot program is called, offers utility customers two options to charge their vehicles:

• Under the vehicle-only option, the power company installs a second meter in the customer’s home that measures the energy used only for recharging the vehicle. The cost for the meter is $2.90 a month. An overnight charge, good for about 40 miles, would cost the customer about 54 cents.
• The whole-house option offers a lower rate for all household electricity use overnight, including recharging vehicles. Dominion Virginia Power will replace the customer’s meter with one that records energy use in 30-minute intervals, allowing the utility to apply pricing rates at specific time periods. This option would charge the vehicle for 51 cents in the summer and 61 cents in the winter under the second.

Using Dominion Virginia Power’s standard residential rate of 11 cents per kWh, the cost of an overnight charge is about $1.10. The special rates will help offset the higher cost of purchasing electric vehicles, which begin at $30,000.

Each rate option is limited to 750 people, and each participant will have to stay enrolled in the program for a minimum of one year. So far, 17 customers have signed up for the program.

The program runs through Nov. 30, 2014. Each year the pilot is in effect, the utility will submit an annual report to the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) that details the number of program participants, an assessment of the feasibility and implications on the public interest of continuing the program, and other relevant information.

The initiative received a $429,051 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to help develop a local network of charging stations for electric vehicles. Partners in the program include the utility, Virginia Clean Cities, the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission and J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College.

The program is designed to test whether the rate structure will motivate people to charge their vehicles during overnight off-peak hours. It could also help balance the growing demands of electric vehicles on the grid, and promote the building of charging stations.  

What is your utility doing to get ready for electric vehicles? Are you ready for the challenges and opportunities the technology presents to power providers? Tell us in the comments section.