Cascade was recently selected by a consortium of Northeast utilities (including National Grid and Eversource) to demonstrate the strategic energy management (SEM) concept in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The demonstration framework will involve two groups (cohorts) of participating companies, one in each state.
This program will help several Northeast utilities gauge customer interest in SEM as well as SEM’s ability to drive cost-effective electric and natural gas savings from operations and maintenance (O&M) projects. Evaluation, measurement, and verification are also critical to the demonstration: the measurement methodology for energy savings must meet with evaluation and regulatory approval.
Cascade will focus on a demonstration that includes customer recruiting, workshop delivery, on-site activities such as “treasure hunts” for O&M projects, and energy performance tracking with Cascade’s online SEM collaboration platform, SENSEI®. Recruiting will target a mix of industrial facilities. There is potential for the program to expand and include additional cohorts and customer types.
This three-year demonstration is on a swift timeline, with recruiting work for the two cohorts expected to begin this fall. We are excited for the opportunity to work with these customers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and to help the participating utilities prove out a framework for future SEM success.
