The Northwest Energy Efficiency Taskforce (NEET) held its final meeting on June 17th. While observing the age old advice of never saying never, NEET Taskforce facilitator Ken Canon announced that there would be no more scheduled meetings of a taskforce at work over the previous 2 years. NEET was inspired by Chairs Steve Wright (BPA), Pat Reiten (PacifiCorp), and Tom Karrier (NWPCC) and the central question of how the pace of energy efficiency acquisition could be accelerated in the region. Six workgroup areas were defined at the outset and volunteers from across the region contributed to a series of ten action item recommendations presented on June 17th. These action item areas include; Regional Technical Forum evaluation; Data Needs; Emerging Technologies; Energy Efficiency Forum and coordinated strategy planning; Marketing; Workforce Development; Cost Effectiveness Manual; Smart Grid, Load Management, Voltage Optimization; and Decoupling. Responsibilities for progress in these areas and a series of progress evaluation markers were identified. Regional coordination was a consistent theme across many issue areas and the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and the Bonneville Power Administration were both assigned on-going roles to facilitate this coordination. NEEC was a member of the NEET Executive Committee and contributed the recommendation that the energy efficiency industry/trade allies be included in subsequent coordination activities given that they play a key role in the success of efficiency efforts with end use customers. For additional information on NEET, visit www.nwcouncil.org.
 The Northwest Energy Efficiency Council transitioned to the name Building Potential in 2024. The organization’s legal name remains the same and the Board of Directors and Staff have not changed. |