The EPA's protocols for verifying savings from utility energy-conservation programs

As part of its acid rain program, the U.S. EPA has established a system of tradable SO2 emission allowances. The regulations also permit electric utilities to earn emission allowances through conservation programs. The utility may verify the savings with “Conservation Verification Protocols (CVPs)”. Use of the CVPs encourages monitoring and establishes a consistent procedure for evaluating electricity savings in all sectors and electrical end uses. In limited cases where the energy savings can be reliably predicted, the CVPs are used to stipulate savings or a procedure to calculate them. The CVPs represent new concepts, including a procedure for linking the amount of savings to confidence that they occurred and a flexible approach to estimation of subsequent-year energy savings. The CVPs are now being used by utilities and some of these have submitted applications for verified savings.