Independent savings verification report confirms 129.4 GWh net first-year energy savings and 23.6 MW peak demand reduction for Efficiency Nova Scotia's 2025 DSM portfolio, with qualified acceptance recommended

M12780 · EfficiencyOne - 2027-2031 Demand Side Management (DSM) Plan Application

AI summary

H. Gil Peach & Associates LLC filed Exhibit E-17, a Savings Verification Review of Econoler's independent evaluation of Efficiency Nova Scotia Demand Side Management programs for Program Year 2025, submitted to the Nova Scotia Energy Board in support of 2027-2031 Demand Side Management Preferred Resource Plan Matter M12780.
The verifier recommends full acceptance of the evaluated portfolio results — 129.444 GWh net first-year energy savings, 1,476.864 GWh lifetime savings, and 23.556 MW net peak demand reduction at the generator, plus 6.795 MW available Demand Response Load Control capacity — finding Econoler's methods generally consistent with Uniform Methods Project protocols.
Three program components receive specific cautions: the Residential Behaviour Efficiency Insights program, which produced only a partial-year result (5.555 GWh) after a cybersecurity attack on Nova Scotia Power suspended AMI data availability in May 2025; the BNI Demand Response and Residential DR programs, which together delivered only 6.795 MW against a 17.861 MW target due to low in-event participation; and the BNI Custom Incentive Program compressed air component, where the measurement tool used (ultrasonic leak detection) is accepted under regulatory direction but is explicitly identified by the UMP as unsuitable for savings quantification.
The Program Evaluation review identifies cross-cutting issues including the need to flag practical (not merely statistical) significance of savings, enhanced transparency in statistical methods, and fuller evaluator discussion when programs are closed mid-cycle — specifically referencing the January 2025 discontinuation of the Appliance Retirement and Green Heat programs.
The report includes 29 numbered recommendations spanning general evaluation practice and five specific programs (ARet, Efficiency Insights, BER, SBES, and DR), and discusses emerging evaluation frameworks — including climate change, energy sufficiency, deep retrofit, load research, and California NMEC — as candidates for integration into future Program Evaluation cycles.

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What was filed

Documents filed on this day

E-17 Savings Verification Report - BCC H. Gil Peach exhibits