Energy Efficiency Obligation Schemes, a new IEA DSM report

The IEA Demand Side Management Programme (IEA DSM) is publishing a new report which shows that energy companies that focus on delivering good energy services to their customers achieve energy savings, increase profit and earn higher customer satisfaction.  This is contrary to the common view that selling less is bad business.

This new study of the IEA DSM Programme (www.ieadsm.org) was an initiative of India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency, BEE, and was prepared by the Regulatory Assistance project, RAP (US). The study references experiences from 19 case studies covering the globe – Australia, China, Europe and the United States.

Rob Kool, Chairman of the DSM programme, emphasises that, ”in the light of the pressing need to scale up energy efficiency investments and achieve large-scale market deployment, this study shows how energy providers can change their business models to deliver energy efficiency with success.”

Richard Cowart of RAP said that ”the study demonstrates once again that end-use energy efficiency is our ’first resource’ for meeting the world’s energy needs.  It’s more reliable, less expensive, and altogether more environmentally beneficial than any of the supply alternatives. The study also shows that policy support in the form of energy efficiency obligations (EEO) is a prerequisite for success, and that there is a wide variety of approaches to EEOs, fitted to different circumstances in different countries, and all have proven to be in large measure effective.”