Glossary

Test types

participant cost test (PCT)

The benefits and costs of a program from the perspective of the customer installing the measure. Includes incentive payments, bill savings, applicable tax credits, and incremental costs.

program administrator cost test (PACT)

Costs and benefits from the perspective of a utility, government agency, or third party that’s implementing a program. Includes energy- and capacity-related costs avoided by the utility, program overhead, incentives, and installation costs.

ratepayer impact measure (RIM)

The impact of efficiency measures on nonparticipating ratepayers overall.

societal cost test (SCT)

The benefits and costs to all in the utility service territory, state, or nation as a whole. Includes energy- and capacity-related costs avoided by the utility, nonmonetized benefits such as cleaner air, unused resource savings, incremental measure costs, and program costs.

Total Resource Cost (TRC)

The benefits and costs associated with a measure from the perspective of all customers in the utility service area, whether participating in the program or not. Includes energy- and capacity-related costs avoided by the utility, applicable tax credits, monetized environmental and non-energy benefits, incremental measure costs, unused resource savings, and program costs.

Resources

EM&V metrics

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE) have compiled a list of End-Use Energy Efficiency Evaluation, Measurement and Verification (EM&V) Resources.

General information

°F

degrees Fahrenheit

actual

Spending data reported at the end of the program year.

attribution rate

A net versus gross plan measurement.

cfm

cubic feet per minute

DR

demand response

EIA

US Energy Information Administration

EM&V

evaluation, measurement and verification

ex ante

Latin for “before the event.” Ex ante information is based on a plan, not actual numbers.

ex post

Latin for “after the event.” Ex post information indicates that the numbers are actual results.

impact

The result of a program. Impacts are measured in various units depending on the program's intention. Impacts can be measured in kW, kWh, dollars, MWh, and more; the particular unit will be shown in the results table.

kBtu

thousand Btu

kW

kilowatt

kWh

kilowatt-hour

MBtu

thousand Btu

measure

A type of technology.

MMBtu

million Btu

MW

megawatt

MWh

megawatt-hour

plan

Annual spending and impacts program goals that have been approved by regulators.

psi

pounds per square inch

PV

photovoltaic

PY

plan year

QA/QC

quality assurance/quality control

realization rate

A measurement of actual performance versus plan.

reported

Impact data published at the end of the program year.

state and province abbreviations

When space requires it, we use the standard abbreviations for all US states and Canadian provinces included in DSM Insights and Measure Insights.

Technical Reference Manual (TRM)

A document that outlines various technological measures and how much energy a utility program can be expected to save by promoting them. Generally used to plan and evaluate energy-efficiency and demand-response programs.

verified

Published impact data that has been reviewed by a third party.

Accessibility options

Switch dashboards

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Number of programs by state or province

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To populate or update this table, select filters in the sidebar and choose variables from the Include variables field to display, then select Apply all filters.

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