Electric Utility Industrial Conservation Programs

The Alliance to Save Energy conducted a study, funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation, of industrial and commercial electricity conservation opportunities in the service territory of Arkansas Power and Light Company (AP&L). The study determined if the ratepayers of the utility would be better off in the long run from the utility sponsoring a financial incentive program for its customers to invest in conservation. The paper will present the engineering and economic results of the study for the 12 industrial SIC categories examined. Audits of AP&L's largest industrial customers were performed to identify generic conservation devices, construct facility 'prototypes' and evaluate kWh and kW savings potential. Paybacks were calculated and used in a market penetration model to project adoption rates for each device by SIC category. The projected market penetration curves were then recalculated assuming two levels of cash rebates offered by the utility. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the alternative conservation programs