Measurement and verification reporting protocols for load shifting and Energy Efficiency Demand Management projects

The importance of independent Measurement and Verification of Demand Side Management (DSM) interventions, including Energy Efficiency (EE) initiatives, are now widely acknowledged. This, largely due to the increasing focus on the sustainability of such projects and pressures to show credible returns on investment for the financial incentives funded from both public and private sources. M&V performance reporting protocols for conventional DSM projects involving single clients, single technologies and single sites are well established, but new mechanisms such as Standard Product, Standard Offer, Performance Contracting and the stipulations of Energy Efficiency tax incentives as contained in section 12L of the income tax act present some unique challenges. This paper presents formal descriptions of the fundamental concepts pertaining to the performance assessment and reporting of the classical DSM load shifting project model, and extends these performance reporting protocols in the context of the requirements of Standard Product, Standard Offer and Performance Contracting.