Welcome – Nick Minderman, Xcel Energy

Welcome from the IEPEC Board President and Conference Chair of IEPEC 2025.

Keynote Speaker – Meridith Grundei

MARKET MOMENTUM: MEASURING TRANSFORMATION
Moderator: Maddie Hansen-Connell, Center for Energy and Environment

• Two Steps Ahead: A Smarter Way to Evaluate Instant Discount Measures
  Maggie Cherney, Guidehouse (slides)
• A New Light for Mass Market Programs
  Victoria Alverez & Dennis Pappas, Con Edison (slides)
• The Long View: A Cost-Effectiveness Framework for Market Transformation Initiatives as Applied to Heat Pump Water Heaters
  Speaker: Evan Hatteberg, NEEA (slides)
• Moving and Measuring Market Transformation of a Decarbonizing Economy
  Speaker: Cynthia Manson, Industrial Economics, Inc. (slides)
  

EM&V DATA APPROACHES: IS THE JUICE WORTH THE SQUEEZE?
Moderator: Megan Ottesen, Colorado Energy Office

• Unlock savings based on performance: The promise of population NMEC Approaches
  Lullit Getachew, DNV (slides)
• I want my $2! Assessing the impact of various incentive mechanisms on response rates in market research
  Lynn Roy, Brightline Group (slides)
• Data-driven approach for baseline construction in a demand flexibility future
  Samuel Fernandes, LBNL (slides)
• Is Simple Best: Can Programs Get More Done by Simplifying Calculations?
  Santiago Rodriguez-Anderson, SBW Consulting Inc. (slides)
• Bridging the Gap: How Updated Weather Datasets Improve Energy Efficiency
  William Walker, Eversource (slides)

DECARBONIZATION DYNAMICS: DIVERSE STRATEGIES FOR A CARBON-FREE FUTURE
Moderator: Sarah Castor, Energy Trust of Oregon

• Evaluation in a Messy and Changing Environment: Maintaining Focus on the Evidence-Based Role
  Ingo Bensch, Resource Innovations (slides)
• When Operations Met Materials, An Emissions Story
  Kailey Pratt, NMR Group (slides)
• The Utility Bill Speed Bump on the Road to a Carbon-Free Future
  Ben Cheah, Verdant Associates (slides)

GRID REVIVAL: QUANTIFYING RESILIENCY AND MODERNIZATION
Moderator: Carmen Best, Recurve

• From Investments to Impact: Proving the Value of Grid Modernization through a Case Study Approach
  Bilhuda Rasheed, Guidehouse (slides)
• ICE Calculator 2.0: Quantifying the Cost of Power Outages
  Chris Ramee, Resource Innovations (slides)
• Beyond counting widgets: Evaluation of the maturity of grid transformation capabilities in the Tennessee Valley
  Jason Krupp, Tennessee Valley Authority (slides)
• Wake of the Flood? Valuing Resilience Benefits of Energy Efficiency During Power Outages
  Justin Spencer, Apex Analytics (slides)

EV-OLUTION: SPARKING THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION
Moderator: Brenda Simon, Seattle City Light

• Moving targets: Methods for evaluating evolving EV managed charging programs
  Caroline Fuller, DNV (slides)
• Discussion: Toward EV Cost-Effectiveness Best Practices
  Edward J. Schmidt Jr., MCR Performance Solutions, LLC (slides)
• Best Practices for Embedded Evaluations of Community-Based Pilot Projects
  Paul Wasmund, Opinion Dynamics (slides)

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT AND RESPONSE TO RATES, INCENTIVES, AND PROGRAM DESIGN
Moderator: Rob Kasman, PG&E

• Timing the Shift: Exploring Customer Responses to TOD Pricing
  Parker Gauthier, Demand Side Analytics & Lisa Beckner, Minnesota Power (slides)
• A Tale of Two Frameworks – Advancing Flexible Load Program Engagement by Redefining Engagement Frameworks and Pathways for Success
  Nick, Minderman, Xcel Energy and Ellen Steiner, Ph.D, Opinion Dynamics (slides)
• What Price is Right? Applying Willingness to Pay Research Approaches to Weatherization Services
  Eileen Hannigan, ILLUME (slides)
• A Customer-Oriented and Holistic Approach to Evaluating Electrification Projects Using Cashflow Analysis
  Angel Moreno, TRC Companies (slides)

BUILDING STOCK STUDIES: INVENTORYING INSIGHTS
Moderator: Danielle Walker, Brightline

• “Ready for Zero? A Retrofit Assessment Framework for Commercial Buildings”
  Bilsay Varcin, TRC (slides)
• A Data-Driven Housing Stock Analysis of Southeast Pennsylvania
  Elaina Present, NREL (slides)
• Seeing the Forest AND the Trees: A Top-Down Approach to Measuring Residential Market Transformation
  Hans Lehndorff, Evergreen Economics (slides)
• Statewide Multifamily Building Stock Study Results
  Conner Geery, Cadmus (slides)

PANEL: MOVING GOALPOSTS: TRACKING DSM’S EVOLVING IMPACT
Moderator: Thomas Olson, CEE

Panelists:

• Ben Plotzker, Efficiency Vermont
• Jillian Winterkorn, United Illuminating
• Lester Sapitula, PG&E

(slides)

CLICK HERE to view a list of the Posters

MAPPING EQUITY: UNLOCKING ENERGY JUSTICE WITH LOCAL INSIGHTS
Moderator: Bob Wirtshafter, Wirtshafter Associates

• Reading Between the Lines: Data-Driven Perspectives on Rural and Urban Dynamics in the Northwest
  Amy Webb, LD Consulting and Shelley Beaulieu, Dragonfly Consulting (slides)
• Dynamically Mapping Need: An Environmental Justice Framework for Tailoring Utility Program Offerings and Outreach to Underserved Communities
  Jamie Hamilton & Rowan Lavelle, Cadmus Group (slides)
• Digging into the Grassroots: Community Partnership Approaches to Reach Income Qualified Households
  Joe Van Clock, Apex Analytics (slides)
• Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Taking a Geographic and Household-Level Approach to Equity
  Riley Hastings, Eversource & Isaac Wainstein, DNV (slides)
• Who Benefits? Approaches and Challenges in Identifying Disadvantaged Communities to Benefit from Energy Programs
  Sergio Olalla Ubierna, ILLUME, an E Source Company (slides)

CONSTRUCTING THE FUTURE: EVOLVING BUILDING CODES & PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
Moderator: Emily Garfunkel, ACEEE

• Building Momentum: Scaling Whole-Building Energy Programs with Smart Models
  Cory Read & Michael Honeychuck, EcoMetric Consulting (slides)
• Mind the Gap: Modeling Accelerated Code Adoption
  Jake Millette, Michaels Energy (slides)
• Building Performance Standards: The Next Frontier in Utility Program Evaluation and Attribution
  Jeannette LeZaks, Slipstream (slides)

NICHE PERSPECTIVES: INSIGHTS ACROSS DIVERSE ENERGY MARKETS
Moderator: Romilee Emerick, Eversource

• Food for Thought: Learnings from a Curiosity-Centered Approach to Understanding the Restaurant Industry
  Leila Shokat, Energy Trust of Oregon (slides)
• Capturing the value of LED horticultural lighting: a market research study
  Dylan Klomhaus, Resource Innovations (slides)
• Shine On, Shine On: Persistence Analysis of New York State’s Customer-Sited Solar PV Installations
  Dana Nilsson, NYSERDA (slides)
• Bright Beginnings: Lessons from Evaluating a Statewide Solar for All Program
  Mallika Jayaraman, ILLUME. an E Source Company (slides)

FAST-TRACKING FEEDBACK: EMERGING EVALUATION METHODS
Moderator: Victoria Engel-Fowles, NYSERDA

• Real-Time Results, Real-Time Strategy: Creating a Process for Continuous, Data-Driven Feedback on a Residential Energy Efficiency Program in New York State
  Emmett Blau, Recurve (slides)
• You’re living Life in the Fast Lane, but A Change is Gonna Do You Good: Efforts to Make Rapid Feedback More Useful
  Ryan Bliss, ADM, a Qualus Company (slides)
• Evaluating the Evaluation Method: A Restrospective on Embedded Evaluation
  Shannon Kahl, ILLUME an E Source Company (slides)

QUANTIFYING ENERGY EQUITY: IMPACT, METRICS, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Moderator: Beth Delahaij, NMR Group

• Energy Equity is Not Just a Buzzword: A Novel Energy Equity Program Evaluation Methodology
  Joan Effinger, Encolor (slides)
• Defining and Measuring Equity in a C&I context
  Ari Michelson, DNV (slides)
• Evaluating Community-Led Energy Transitions: Lessons from the Energy Technology Innovation Partnership Project (ETIPP)
  Ellen Steiner, Opinion Dynamics (slides)
• Sampling to Balance Community Engagement and Representativeness
  Brett Close, TRC (slides)
• Immeasurable Impact? Creating Success Frameworks for Long-Term Equity Interventions
  Leigh Michael, ILLUME, an E Source Company (slides)

DECARBONIZING BIG ENERGY: UNLOCKING EFFICIENCY IN THE C&I SECTOR
Moderator: Hannah Howard, Opinion Dynamics

• A Tough Nut to Crack – What will it take to decarbonize industrial facilities?
  Miriam Goldberg, DNV (slides)
• Quantifying Demand Flexibility Market Potential in Commercial Buildings: A Scalable Approach for Grid Stability, Energy Savings, and Emissions Reduction
  Tarun Arasu, Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University (slides)
• Bigger is Different: The Complicated Energy Efficiency Decision-Making of Large C&I Customers
  Christopher Dyson, DNV (slides)
• Measuring In-field VRF Performance, COPs and Measurement Techniques
  Chris Zimbelman, Ridgeline Energy Analytics (slides)

BEYOND THE STATUS QUO: HARNESSING MARKET INFLUENCE TO DRIVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Moderator: Jill Steiner, Consumers Energy

• Solving the mystery: How contractors approach heat pump sales in California
  Jen Loomis, Opinion Dynamics (slides)
• Valuing Training: the Key to the Future of Clean Energy
  Robert Wirtshafter, Wirtshafter Associates (slides)
• There’s an Easier Way! Using Optimization Modeling to Reduce Builder Resistance to High-Performance Practices and Code Requirements
  Jared Powell, NMR Group (slides)

PANEL: ASSESSING HOW DER PROGRAM BENEFITS WILL BE DISTRIBUTED TO DIFFERENT POPULATIONS
Moderator: Julie Michals

Panelists:

• Natalie Newman, MEEA
• Pastor Booker Vance, Elevate Energy
• Mark Minden, Ameren
• Ida Weiss, Synapse Energy Economics

ADVANCING ENERGY AFFORDABILITY: REDUCING DEBT, EXPANDING ACCESS AND CAPTURING BENEFITS
Moderator: Jes Rivas, Swift Strategy

• Lighten the Energy Burden: Targeting Energy Efficiency Programs on Underserved and Overburdened Customers
  Miles Ingram, DNV (slides)
• Powering Down Debt: A Meta-Analysis of Personalized Case Management Programs Tackling the Affordability Crisis
  Elizabeth Bullard, Verdant Associates (slides)
• Counting More Than Kilowatts: Monetizing Utility Cost Savings from Reduced Arrearages and Collections
  Ferit Ucar, NMR Group (slides)
• We Built It and They Didn’t Come: Insights About Low- and Moderate-Income Households
  Iris Cheung, PG&E (slides)

SCALING HEAT PUMPS: CREATING MARKET MOMENTUM
Moderator: Ralph Prahl, Prahl and Associates

• Moving a Mountain: An update on the task of shifting a market
  Monica Nevius, NMR Group (slides)
• Bridging the gap to market transformation in the heat pump market
  Jillian Mallory, Econoler (slides)
• Why do cost estimates vary so much for heat pumps? And what are best practices for estimating costs to set rebates appropriately?
  Marian D. Goebes, TRC (slides)
• (Fuel) Switching it Up: Rethinking Net-to-Gross Measurement and Attribution in Non-Residential New Construction Electrification Projects
  Lisa Wilson-Wright, NMR Group (slides)
• Oh, Where Oh, Should These Heat Pumps Go, Oh Where Oh Where Can They Be?
  Noel Stevens, TRC Companies (slides)

BATTERIES & DER: CHARGING THE FUTURE OF GRID FLEXIBILITY
Moderator: Ethan Young, Guidehouse

• Charging Toward the Future of Flexible Load Management: Evaluation of a Renewable Battery Dispatch Program
  George Jiang, Resource Innovations (slides)
• Storage in Practice: Insights from NYSERDA’s Energy Storage Programs
  Praga Meyyappan, DNV (slides)
• Can You Have Your Cake and Eat It Too? Mitigate Grid Constraints and Achieve GHG Reductions with Demand Response
  Vijay Gopalakrishnan, DNV (slides)
• Batteries Unleashed: Supercharging Benefits Through Smarter Storage Programs
  William Marin, Verdant Associates (slides)

FUELING THE FUTURE: EVALUATING R&D CLIMATE INVESTMENTS
Moderator: Jon Taffel, CPUC

• Reframing Evaluation: New Metrics and Language for Driving DSM Decisions in a Changing World
  Joseph Forcilo, Consumers Energy (slides)
• Through the Funnel: Evaluating Innovation
  Maura Nippert, DNV (slides)
• Measuring and Evaluating the Development Impacts of Climate Investments
  Daniel Kaufman,  Industrial Economics, Inc. &  Brittney Melloy, Climate Investment Fund (slides)
• Impact Evaluation of Energy Department R&D Investments in Small Businesses and Startups
  Jeremy Simpson, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (slides)

VALUE AMPLIFIED: UNLOCKING NON-ENERGY IMPACTS
Moderator: Ingo Bensch, Resource Innovations

• From Savings to Solutions: How Non-Energy Impacts can Transform Energy Efficiency Programs
  Evan Gutierrez, PhD, TRC (slides)
• New Programs at the Intersection of Health and Energy Efficiency: Can We Quantify the Impacts?
  Anne West, West and Company (slides)
• Beyond Efficiency: The Multifaceted Impacts of Induction Cooktops, Heat Pumps, Battery Systems, and All-Electric Residential New Construction
  Greg Clendenning, NMR Group (slides)
• Know Their Significance First: How Understanding the Value of Non-Market Impacts of Energy Efficiency Programs can Shape Future Investment Towards Equitable Outcomes
  Kevin Price, Evergreen Economics (slides)
• From Propane to Progress: Clean Energy Pilots to Address Air Quality and Energy Equity in Disadvantaged Communities
  Martha Wudka, Evergreen Economics (slides)

SHARING THE LOAD: RESIDENTIAL DR OPPORTUNITIES
Moderator: Cheryn Metzer, PNNL

• Entering Uncharted Water (Heater Demand Response)
  Christina Carlson, Apex Analytics & Evelyn Martin, Tacoma Power (slides)
  
• Identifying Heat Pump Morning Demand Spikes and Opportunities for their Mitigation
  Duncan Ward, Apex Analytics (slides)
  
• Saving Heat: A Natural Fit for Gas Demand Response
  Jeff Pritchard, Michaels Energy (slides)
  
• Turning Up the Heat (Before Peak): Lessons from a Heat Pump Water Heating Load-Shifting Pilot
  Jenny  Hughes, Verdant Associates (slides)

PRO TIPS FOR CRITICAL EM&V CHALLENGES
Moderator: Clarice Torres, National Grid

• Rapid-Response M&V: Creating Feedback Loops for Improved Energy Efficiency Program Results
  Lucas Born, Power TakeOff (slides)
• Differentially Trendy? Understanding and Addressing Non-parallel Trend Bias in Smart Thermostat Impact Estimates
  Ken Agnew, DNV (slides)
• “If the Shoe Fits”: Statistical Techniques When Traditional M&V Methods Don’t Cut It
  Rahi Shah, Warren Energy LLC & Marcus Lewis, Con Ed (slides)
• The Price Is Right: A Multi-Modal Approach to Researching Incremental Measure Costs
  Ari Stern, DNV (slides)
• Another Dose of Customer Truth Serum: Measuring Self-Reported Free-Riderships Rates Across Multiple Years
  Katherine Johnson, Johnson Consulting & Shaylyn Dean, Spire (slides)

PANEL: BRIDGING THE DIVIDE: EVALUATION CROSSROADS IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY, TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION, AND DEMAND RESPONSE
Moderator: Zach Ross, Opinion Dynamics

Panelists:

• Nick Warnecke, Ameren Illinois
• Nick Ludwig, Alliant Energy
• Kyriakos Anastasopoulos, ComEd

APPLIANCE POWER: NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENERGY SAVINGS
Moderator: Amy Webb, LD Consulting

• Load of Potential: Insights into National Laundry Behaviors for DOE Standards Development
  Blake Killingsworth, Evergreen Economics (slides)
• Magnetic Appeal: Understanding the Forces Behind California’s Induction Cooking Technology Adoption
  Julia Mycek, Evergreen Economics (slides)
• Leading the Charge with State Standards for Products and Appliances!
  Lisa Wilson-Wright, NMR Group (slides)
• The Best Thing Since Tide Pods: Real Life Results from an All-In-One Washer/Heat Pump Dryer Pilot
  Mary-Hall Johnson, BrightLine Group (slides)

HEAT PUMP INSIGHTS: UPDATED LEARNINGS FROM THE FIELD
Moderator: Jon Maxwell, DNV

• Climate, Grid, and Customer: Three Dimensions of Heat Pump Impacts
  Danielle Fulmer, Opinion Dynamics (slides)
• Home is Where the Heat Pump is: Evaluating heat pump usage and bill savings among income-qualified households with delivered fuels in New York State
  Jake Straus, Cadmus & Carley Murray, NYSERDA (slides)
• Cool Data. Hot Results. A summary of a comprehensive heat pump metering study across 185 homes in Massachusetts and Connecticut
  Ryan Powanda, Guidehouse (slides)
• The Heat is On! Understanding the savings potential of heat pumps
  Liandra Chapman, Evergreen Economics (slides)