According to Navigant Research, Smart Meter Data Presents New Opportunities for Utility Insight into Real-Time Program Performance

This data offers the potential to change energy efficiency program
measurement and verification as it is currently known, report finds

BOULDER, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#AMI–A new report from Navigant
Research examines whether North American utilities can leverage data
from advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), or smart meters, to change
the way energy efficiency program measurement and verification (M&V) and
impact evaluation are conducted.

Many utilities remain unsure about the possibilities of analytic
techniques and data granularity, and this uncertainty is compounded by
the fact that new firms seem to emerge each year, claiming to provide
increasingly deep insights into customers’ energy reduction potential by
using little more than consumption data from the utility. However, if
broadly available across all customer sectors, AMI data has the
potential to enhance the traditional M&V model with respect to
quantifying costs and benefits. Click
to tweet: According to a new report from @NavigantRSRCH,
AMI data presents new opportunities for utilities to gain insights into
their programs’ performance in real-time, to make mid-course
corrections, and to lower M&V costs by decreasing the frequency of
in-depth evaluations.

“Using AMI data to estimate program impacts has the potential to lower
evaluation costs by eliminating or reducing the need for field or
survey-based verification,” says Brett Feldman, principal research
analyst at Navigant Research. “In addition, results can be delivered
more quickly than those found through traditional evaluation, as
analysis can be performed as soon as data becomes available.”

This data also presents opportunities for existing M&V vendors and new
players to provide value-added services to their utility clients.
However, while AMI has the potential to change M&V as it is currently
known, the transformation is expected to be more of an evolutionary
change than a revolution, according to the report.

The report, Utility
Strategies for Smart Meter Innovation: Energy Efficiency Measurement and
Verification, examines what is realistic in regards to advanced
M&V of energy efficiency program impacts using AMI data in the North
American utility industry. The study also provides an analysis of the
effects that advanced M&V of energy efficiency programs could have on
the broader industry and what drivers could change the current and
forecast evaluation paradigms. The discussion in this report is
primarily applicable to AMI data used for M&V in North American energy
efficiency program evaluation, but may apply more to other regions in
the future as AMI proliferates. An Executive Summary of the report is
available for free download on the Navigant
Research website.

About Navigant Research

Navigant Research, the dedicated research arm of Navigant, provides
market research and benchmarking services for rapidly changing and often
highly regulated industries. In the energy sector, Navigant Research
focuses on in-depth analysis and reporting about global clean technology
markets. The team’s research methodology combines supply-side industry
analysis, end-user primary research and demand assessment, and deep
examination of technology trends to provide a comprehensive view of the
Energy Technologies, Utility Transformations, Transportation
Efficiencies, and Buildings Innovations sectors. Additional information
about Navigant Research can be found at www.navigantresearch.com.

About Navigant

Navigant Consulting, Inc. is a specialized, global professional services
firm that helps clients take control of their future. Navigant’s
professionals apply deep industry knowledge, substantive technical
expertise, and an enterprising approach to help clients build, manage
and/or protect their business interests. With a focus on markets and
clients facing transformational change and significant regulatory or
legal pressures, the Firm primarily serves clients in the healthcare,
energy and financial services industries. Across a range of advisory,
consulting, outsourcing, and technology/analytics services, Navigant’s
practitioners bring sharp insight that pinpoints opportunities and
delivers powerful results. More information about Navigant can be found
at navigant.com.

* The information contained in this press release concerning the
report, Utility Strategies for Smart Meter Innovation: Energy
Efficiency Measurement and Verification, is a summary and reflects
Navigant Research’s current expectations based on market data and trend
analysis. Market predictions and expectations are inherently uncertain
and actual results may differ materially from those contained in this
press release or the report. Please refer to the full report for a
complete understanding of the assumptions underlying the report’s
conclusions and the methodologies used to create the report. Neither
Navigant Research nor Navigant undertakes any obligation to update any
of the information contained in this press release or the report.

Contacts

Navigant Research
Lindsay Funicello-Paul, +1-781-270-8456
[email protected]