Thursday, May 9, 2019

The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the findings and recommendations that are laid out in the executive summary of the white paper. The end goal is to seek RTF decision on these findings and recommendations, and subcommittee input (and modifications) is a critical step.

In preparation for the meeting, please read the draft white paper (at a minimum the executive summary) and think through the points below:

• Audience/purpose:  A goal of developing RTF findings and recommendations is to help stakeholders sort through research priorities. We recognize that these may not be new, as many of the findings and recommendations in the paper have been noted by others.
• How good is 'good enough'?: To weigh research priorities and potential regulatory requirements, stakeholders need a clear idea of "how good is good enough". This paper does not propose specific thresholds for what constitutes "good enough", but it does recommend additional work on some topics, essentially implying a determination. 
• Different use cases: As a toolset, these models have different utility for different parts of the EE business. For instance, an evaluator may not need to control site-level savings uncertainty (since program-level savings is a more common evaluation target), but a pay-for-performance program may need more granular reliability (because performance contracts can be site-specific).  Two points are important here:
  • First, the RTF's primary concern is more closely aligned with evaluator needs.
  • Second, many of these issues are naturally outside of the paper's scope. The paper seeks to clarify what the toolset can and cannot do, and what we can do to improve the toolset and better understand its capabilities; the question of what role the toolset might usefully play in program administration and regulatory proceedings would be a natural next step. 

Whole Building White Paper