Sustainable Pittsburgh, on behalf of Energy for the Power of 32, commissioned this white paper on energy efficiency, authored by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. The report is an outgrowth of the Energy for the Power of 32 event, held December 11, 2014, in which attendees from around the Power of 32 region (Pittsburgh and 32 surrounding counties in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia) convened to assess development of a regional energy plan and strategy.
Regional energy efficiency planning, especially across state lines, has unique benefits and challenges. This paper surveys a sample of current regional planning and implementation efforts across the country. It describes how to engage decision makers and stakeholders from various economic sectors in energy efficiency planning, and it discusses metrics and goals for evaluating program success.