Thanks to the generous support of nine CEE member organizations, CEE has begun participation in a new project with the International Energy Agency (IEA DSM) on the topic of engaging “Hard to Reach” (HTR) customers. The CEE Board authorized this new collaboration in March, and IEA approved the final project plan in April. This project represents a unique international learning opportunity: CEE member sponsors will develop a characterization of the many customer segments within the broader topic of HTR, while drawing on the research, outcomes, and expertise of their international peers running energy efficiency programs around the world.
The IEA DSM HTR project was created to characterize the various customer segments that are commonly referred to as HTR, in both the residential and commercial sectors, and to uncover the barriers and opportunities to reaching these segments. Together with international peers, CEE members and sponsors will identify strategies to overcome these barriers based on robust social science research, and test out approaches for addressing specific subgroups within the broader HTR category. This project will enhance our common understanding of which behavioral techniques have worked well to engage specific HTR customers abroad, with the goal of informing and improving how energy efficiency programs are designed and evaluated in the US and Canada in instances where similar customer types and comparable program activity exist.
Drawing upon IEA-facilitated access to a global network of more than three hundred behavior experts around the world, the project will develop a common nomenclature for HTR and begin to test behavioral techniques for engaging specific HTR audiences abroad.
On November 20th-21st, 2019, CEE project sponsors and Behavior Committee members will convene in Sacramento, CA for the US Workshop for this effort. During this 1.5-day workshop, sponsors and members will gain insights from binational and international HTR case studies, and continue the development of the HTR characterization. Don’t miss out on the chance to provide feedback on this unique project. Reach out to Kira Ashby, Senior Program Manager for Behavior, for additional details about this project or to participate in the upcoming workshop.
About CEE
CEE is an award-winning consortium of
efficiency program administrators from the United States and Canada.
Members work to unify program approaches across jurisdictions to
increase the success of efficiency in markets. By joining forces at CEE,
individual electric and gas efficiency programs are able to partner not
only with each other, but also with other industries, trade
associations, and government agencies. Working together, administrators
leverage the effect of their ratepayer funding, exchange information on
successful practices and, by doing so, achieve greater energy efficiency
for the public good.