Award-Winning Efficiency Program in FoCo

Utilities around the country have efficiency programs; however, Fort Collins wanted to take its project to the next level. “Utilities started doing efficiency programs by implementing the low-hanging fruit. Now that they already have early adopters doing the easy projects, the question is how to take the next step, getting more people involved and getting to deeper savings,” says RMI manager Jacob Corvidae. “Fort Collins is doing that by taking the best practices from efficiency projects around the country and putting them in one streamlined process for their customers. It’s like having all the best flavors of ice cream in one bowl.”

To increase participation in energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, the model includes an audit by a third-party home performance expert that results in three package options that are presented in the same site visit: good, better, and best. Utilities selects a qualified contractor to complete the upgrades, which during the pilot could be financed up to 100 percent on the customer’s monthly bill without increasing the customer’s monthly costs.

The pilot program ran for a year and half, and was extremely successful, more than tripling the number of customers proceeding with energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, with 60 percent greater carbon savings. Kevin Gertig, Fort Collins Utilities executive director, notes that, “The Efficiency Works-Neighborhood pilot represents the culture of results and innovation that we are fostering in Fort Collins to support our community’s energy and climate goals.

Read more about the program in Fort Collins, and the results, here.