One reason for this is because the multifamily market has unique challenges that must be addressed in order to deliver effective programs. The good news is, we have a roadmap and there are partners along the way to help utilities capitalize on the enormous opportunity for energy savings that exists in the multifamily housing sector.

A new report we released along with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), Engaging as Partners: Introducing Utilities to the Energy Efficiency Needs of Multifamily Buildings and Their Owners, examines the factors that contribute to effective energy efficiency program design for multifamily buildings and recommends strategies that can help utilities design and implement energy efficiency programs.

Here are recommended strategies, from the report:

1. Segment the Multifamily Market: Segmenting the multifamily market into several common local building types, ages, and split incentive structures will increase program efficiency and improve service.
2. Design Programs that Overcome Split Incentive Barriers: Overcome split incentive barriers (when building owners are responsible for investing in energy efficiency improvements, while tenants reap the benefits via lower energy bills) by pro­viding sufficient incentives to building owners.
3. Coordinate Gas and Electric Programs: Coordinate administration across utilities to simplify and speed up the process for multifamily building owners.
4. Choose the Most Appropriate Delivery Mechanism for the Program: Programs that are conve­nient and use trusted partners help educate potential custom­ers and break down barriers.
5. Integrate Comprehensive and Direct Install Solutions: Combine the two activities into one project to achieve economies of scale, create a single point of communication, and decrease disruptions.
6. Make Rebates Accessible and Easy: Convenience is an impor­tant determinant of participation.
7. Partner with Sources of Attractive Multifamily Financing: Consider a trusted financing partner and an opportunity to educate multifamily clients about efficiency upgrades when they seek other financ­ing.
8. Provide Follow-Up and Aggregated Building Energy Use Data: Quality control is critical to success, reducing rework and improving customer satisfaction.
9. Engage with Key Multifamily Industry Players: Collaboration with other organizations can heighten the impact of a multifamily energy efficiency program.

The other good news is that while building owners in many areas historically have not made energy efficiency investments a high priority, utilities can and have designed effective programs for the multifamily sector. Read the full report for case studies on some of these programs.

This report is a follow-up to an earlier report that introduced building owners and housing advocates to the utility sector.

This post was originally published on the CNT Energy blog.

In 2012, we conducted a study with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) which shows that energy efficiency upgrades in multifamily buildings could save building owners and residents up to $3.4 billion annually. These upgrades help maintain affordable housing, decrease financial risk for lenders, and improve tenant comfort. But, building owners often have problems finding technical assistance, financing, or qualified contractors to upgrade their buildings.

The report finds that better coordination is the key to unlocking energy efficiency savings, and utilities and multifamily housing industry need to work together more closely to develop effective policies for that underserved building sector. For example, some states cap the investments that utilities can make in cost-effective energy efficiency, or limit programs to favor short-term savings over longer-term improvements like insulation and improved HVAC. The multifamily housing industry and utilities should work together to remove these limits and change policies to favor higher total savings.

This month, ACEEE released an assessment of the current landscape of multifamily energy efficiency programs in the metropolitan areas with the largest multifamily housing markets. (Click on the image below to see where your city stacks up.) The study found a total of 50 multifamily energy efficiency programs (some metro areas had multiple programs), but significant opportunities for improvement and growth.

The evidence all points to the need to expand utility customer-funded energy efficiency programs for multifamily housing. A new report out in late March also supports this argument – we’re partnering up again with ACEEE to release a study that gets at how the multifamily housing sector is different than commercial, industrial, or single-family energy efficiency programs and why utilities may get more bang for their buck if they focus on this important, largely untapped sector. Look for our report the week of March 25th.

This post was originally published on the CNT Energy blog.

Lou Sopcic owns a 96-unit building located in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. “Going through the Energy Savers program made owning this building viable,” said Sopcic. “Energy efficiency for this building is the difference between being able to balance expenses and losing our property.” The savings helped Sopcic preserve nearly 100 units of affordable housing.

The Energy Savers program helps building owners navigate the entire process, from receiving an assessment to completing the work. An expert team conducts an on-site building assessment to help owners identify the most cost-effective investments for the building. The program offers low fixed-rate financing for the rehab, guidance on available rebates or incentives, construction oversight, and annual savings reports.

The Energy Savers Multifamily program is currently open to owners of multifamily building with five or more units located in the seven-county Chicago metropolitan region and the City of Rockford. We also now also offer Energy Savers programs for nonprofits and public buildings.

The Energy Savers program is a joint program of CNT Energy and the Community Investment Corporation (CIC). For more information on the program here or how Energy Savers can save you money here.

With especially stretched budgets, and a commitment to keeping tenant rents low, it only makes sense for affordable housing providers to reduce their operating costs through energy efficiency upgrades. Yet, the affordable housing community utilizes energy efficiency resources at a disproportionately low rate compared to other types of housing. Why?

A recent blog post CNT Energy co-wrote with Focus on Energy addresses this quandary. It explores key themes essential to better integration with affordable housing, including language employed, division of duties, and timing.

Read the complete post here>>

You’ll get twice the deal when you take advantage of an incentive program from Energy Impact Illinois, an alliance to help Illinois residents lower energy costs. The program helps you reduce energy bills and also provides financial incentives to make recommended improvements to your home. If you enroll in the program and install energy efficiency measures this year, you’ll receive an instant rebate of up to $1750 from Energy Impact Illinois and your local utility and, you can now also claim a credit of up to $500 for the very same improvements, so long as the improvements are eligible under the tax extension.

Example: Say you spend $3,000 on energy efficiency improvements this year via Energy Impact Illinois. You’ll receive an instant rebate of $1,750. Your out-of-pocket cost is now $1,250. If all the improvements made are eligible under the extension, you’d qualify for a tax credit of 10% of this total cost, for a tax reduction of $125 when you next file your taxes. What a bonus!

The credit also benefits past participants of Energy Impact Illinois, as it extends to improvements made between Dec. 31 2011, and Dec. 31, 2013. Meaning, that in addition to work you do this year, you can deduct eligible improvements you made to your home last year.

Keep in mind that only certain measures are eligible. The Tax Incentives Assistance Project provides information on eligible improvements, how to qualify, resources to find out more on qualifying products, and IRS forms. And, be aware that you will not see the money until your next tax return. And, of course, consult with your tax advisor for details on your situation.

For more on Energy Impact Illinois or suggested home energy improvements, call 1-855-9-IMPACT (1-855-946-7228).

Credit Flickr User "ricardodiaz11"

Municipal aggregation is in the news, most recently in light of Chicago City Council’s 50-0 vote approving the bulk electricity buying plan.

The plan will save customers money over ComEd’s fixed price rate. A positive result of aggregation is that it may encourage folks to think about their own power and usage, perhaps for the first time. And knowledge is key when it comes to informed decision-making by Chicago residents and small businesses.

We’ve written about what municipal aggregation means for your options as an hourly pricing customer. Here’s what else we think you should know.

• The municipal aggregation ruling does not affect current hourly pricing customers or folks who currently buy their power from someone besides ComEd. Everyone else will be automatically switched over in the next two months.

• Customers have options: you can switch back to ComEd, to another provider, or to hourly pricing, for free, at any time. One option for Chicago residents is the ComEd Residential Real-Time Pricing Program. Since 2007, hourly pricing customers have saved on average 25 percent. For many, hourly pricing may be a better fit. Call us to find out: 888-202-RRTP (7787).

Other facts:

• Integrys Energy Services won the two-year contract to provide electricity to Chicago residents. Integrys is a sister company to Peoples Gas.

• Integrys plans to send a letter to all Chicago residents (except current residential real-time pricing customers and customers already buying power from alternative retail energy suppliers) to inform them of the offer and provide instructions for opting out of the program, if they wish. (We’ll post a copy of the letter when we have it.)

• ComEd continues to deliver the electricity and is still responsible for electric delivery service lines into homes and businesses. (ComEd does not generate any electricity.)

• CNT Energy applauds the City of Chicago’s decision to include important consumer protections in their aggregation program, including no early-termination fee for those who may want to switch in the future to other providers or an hourly pricing program, and that current hourly pricing customers are not automatically switched. That is, any customers currently on hourly pricing programs stay on those programs.

• Environmental attributes are still being determined, but, as part of the contract, Integrys has agreed to not purchase any electricity from coal-fired power plants.

(Blog originally posted at CNT Energy’s blog)

ComEd recently brought on CNT Energy as the program administrator for the RRTP program. CNT Energy will provide the added services, tools, and information that RRTP participants receive, along with a team of specialists to answer your questions. For RRTP participants, ComEd will continue to supply your power, respond to service calls, and issue your bill.

The ComEd Residential Real-Time Pricing program was recently given the green light from the Illinois Commerce Commission  to continue and expand through 2017. The evaluation determined that the program’s benefits to customers significantly outweigh its costs, including lower bills for participants and reduced peak demand for electricity.

You can check out the new ComEd RRTP website here.

Between 2007 and 2011, CNT was part of the Presidential Climate Action Project (PCAP) that engaged hundreds of thought leaders to produce scores of recommendations on how the President of the United States could improve the nation’s climate and energy security. This new iteration of the project provides a roadmap of some of the executive branch actions that can be taken over the next four years. CNT’s ongoing work to enable sustainable communities directly aligns with PCAP’s agenda, including promoting energy efficiency, expanding mobility options, and empowering state and local leadership on climate action.   Read this year’s action plan here ››

The program focuses its technical assistance on buildings that are located in or will have significant economic impact over economically challenged areas, such as Economic Zones and TIF districts, as well as all projects that spur growth in low-income areas by creating jobs, offering social services, rehabilitating brownfields or vacant buildings, or providing affordable housing.  Qualifying buildings should be at least 10,000 square feet and must still be in the early stages of designing and planning so that the program’s energy savings strategies can have impact. Through generous financial incentives, which provide up to $100,000 in energy rebates per project depending upon which upgrades are chosen and their projected energy savings, 29 building owners in underserved Chicago neighborhoods have already had the opportunity to upgrade their facilities.

Owner and managers of commercial, industrial, and multi-family buildings in Nicor Gas service territory, as well as contractors, engineers, architects, and consultants who work with these building types, are encouraged to contact the Nicor Gas Energy Efficiency Redevelopment Team to familiarize themselves with the program and to begin planning for their own redevelopment projects.

A full description of the program and the application process can be found at CNT Energy

CNT Energy Director, Anne Evens, talks about CNT Energy's new partnership that will accelerate the number of retrofits being completed in single family homes and multifamily apartment buildings like this one at 7549 S. Essex.

“Retrofit Chicago will impact communities that need help the most, and nearly 8,000 homes and apartments will soon be able to realize hundreds of dollars in annual savings,” said Mayor Emanuel. “This would not be possible without a broad, important partnership of city government, utility companies and community organizations.”

The partnership includes ComEd, Peoples Gas, CNT Energy, Community Investment Corporation, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association, and the City of Chicago.

Many owners find energy efficiency improvements cost prohibitive and confusing and simply do not know where to start making improvements. The City’s initiative, the Chicago Retrofit Residential Partnership, aims to help owners easily and affordably retrofit their homes and buildings by accelerating the success of the Energy Savers program, with targeted outreach in 12 designated energy zones in the city of Chicago. The partnership will also enhance outreach efforts for Energy Impact Illinois, the regional energy efficiency initiative covering the seven-county Chicago region and Rockford, Illinois.

The 12 zones that are the focus of the partnership are: Auburn Gresham, Austin, Avalon Park, Beverly, Chatham, Edgewater, Lincoln Square, Logan Square, Mount Greenwood, Rogers Park, South Shore, and West Ridge. Community areas were selected based on having a high concentration of apartments or single family homes and a substantial opportunity to improve energy efficiency.

Single family and multifamily building owners can call one phone number (855-9-IMPACT) to learn about and apply for available programs and financing opportunities.

“Improving the energy efficiency of the region’s building stock makes sense on so many levels—it saves people money, creates jobs, improves the comfort level in homes, and protects the environment,” said Anne Evens, CEO of CNT Energy, which co-administers Energy Savers with Community Investment Corporation.

Since its inception in 2008, Energy Savers has:

• Retrofitted 269 buildings, or more than 9,000 apartment units
• Saved multifamily building owners $10,000 on average annually on utility bills.
• Created 362 jobs in the construction industry, which has been hard-hit by the recession
• Reduced the need for more than 2.1 million gas therms and 5.9 million kilowatt hours of electricity

Owners can learn more about money saving energy efficiency programs available to them and can request an energy assessment by calling 855-9-IMPACT.

CNT Energy, an affiliate of CNT, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide economic and environmental benefits to households, building owners, and communities through energy efficiency and conservation.