Project Title: Powering Energy Efficiency & Impacts Framework: Mapping a comprehensive

energy strategy for the Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments Region

Project Overview: The Powering Energy Efficiency & Impacts Framework (PEEIF) project
develops a geospatial database of energy efficiency programs, integrated with varied external
datasets and a utility monitoring tool to support a data-driven decision framework to increase the
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energy efficiency of homes located in North Carolinas Tier 1 & 2 counties. Despite growth in
North Carolinas urban areas, many rural areas of the state have experienced economic decline.
Low-income households in these areas face high energy costs as a percentage of income. To
reduce the burden, a number of federal, state, utility, and local energy programs focus on low-
income households. The Federal Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), Low Income Home
Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), electric utilities energy efficiency rebate programs, and
housing finance authorities energy efficiency incentives are designed to reduce energy burden.
However, these programs are run independently with little coordination. We propose a
comprehensive data-driven platform by which independent programs can be considered
collaboratively with other inputs to maximize program impact. Providing such a platform will
facilitate integrated planning, deployment, and evaluation of program effectiveness and result in
a reduced energy burden for low-income households. This work will be a template, both from an
organizational and data-management perspective which can be replicated in other regions.

Background: The Upper Coastal Plain Council of Government (UCPCOG) region is a federal
Economic Development District guided by a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy.
UCPCOG manages numerous grants and is experienced in planning, community and economic
development for 46 member governments and their communities. As primary project partner, the
NC Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) will work with UCPCOG, seven project
participants, and four data-providing organizations. NCCETC has extensive experience in
implementing GHG emissions-impacting programs and policies, and is currently working with
UCPCOG on a federally supported project to reduce transportation-related emissions.

Project Goal: The Powering Energy Efficiency & Impacts Framework will foster regional
collaborations between multiple government and non-government entities and use data-driven
analysis to facilitate local government, utility, and community decision-making with respect to
energy efficiency for low income households. Increased collaboration and targeted analysis will
improve the effectiveness of organizations serving low-income households and reduce energy
use in energy-intensive homes. Critical success factors in achieving this goal are the resolution of
data security and privacy issues and the development of an informative, accurate, and accessible
database for target policy, energy intensity reductions, and tailored program implementation
efforts.

DOE Impact: Federal support will provide necessary initial funding to create this first-of-its
kind comprehensive, collaborative, and replicable tool for energy efficiency. While several
partners identified in the proposal have considered creating their own spatial database, none
previously envisioned creating a robust inter-agency tool as proposed. Upon completion we
anticipate that the enterprise database will be sustained through support by utilities and
organizations involved with and/or interested in reducing energy usage.

Technical Description, Innovation and Impact Relevance and Outcomes: Relevance and
Outcomes: The Powering Energy Efficiency & Impacts Framework (PEEIF) project will
develop an innovative data analytics and project framework for efficiency program

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12016 North Carolina Development Tier Designations, NC Department of Commerce

providers and local governments to increase utilization and effectiveness of efficiency programs.
Efficiency program providers will integrate with local programs to achieve greater reductions in
greenhouse gas emissions and household energy use. Low income residents that spend a
disproportionate amount on utility bills will benefit the most. Specialized project software will
use data integrated from multiple sources and data analytics to support a decision making process
to optimize household energy reductions. To ensure success the UCPCOG has commitment and
support of several key partners including three universities, two utilities, a technology company,
and two non-governmental organizations that will develop the database and conduct outreach
activities. There is also interest in replicating the success of the PEEIF project in other parts of
North Carolina as demonstrated by additional letters of support.

Phase one focuses on creating a web-based enterprise geodatabase of all federal, state, utility,
and local energy efficiency programs in UCPCOG counties and participating utility service
areas. Spatial data will be overlaid with other publicly available datasets such as local and U.S.
Census data on income, housing stock, etc. Combined datasets will be translated into user
friendly visualizations used to inform decision-makers about program access by geographical
area, population demographics, and other variables to help low-income households underserved
by existing energy efficiency programs. Vermont Law School will work with data partners and
NC State Universitys Center for Geospatial Analysis to address data privacy and legal concerns
for the utility and data providers such as Roanoke Electric Cooperative, Wilson Electric, NC
Department of Health and Human Services, and the NC Housing Finance Agency. Phase two
focuses on operationalizing the data analysis to maximize the effectiveness of future energy
program decisions. The project team will implement Terracels utility energy tracking tool
ResiSpeak in utility service areas to measure electricity and natural gas usage of participating
homes. Data collected from ResiSpeak will be combined in enterprise geodatabase to guide
decisions related to energy programs. Data from ResiSpeak can be used to identify individual
houses or neighborhoods that use a large amount of energy, either because of unusual usage
patterns or inefficiencies. Information generated from the geospatial datasets will be cross-
referenced with energy usage data to identify available and appropriate energy efficient programs
maximize effectiveness of proposed strategies. The database will be set up so that each
contributing entity will have a separate user account to input and view their data on a granular
scale. Users will only be able to access the information about other programs in the aggregate.
The GIS data analysis tools will include three main parts: i) internal data analysis, ii) external
data analysis, and iii) integration with the utility energy analysis tool.

i) Internal Data Analysis will collect datasets on historic awards of all the federal, state, utility,
and local energy efficiency programs in study area and represent in a spatial GIS database.
Compiled data will be analyzed and represented by different classifications, i.e. rental properties,
home size, participation timeline, completed projects, and other variables. The geodatabase will
create dynamic interactive maps allowing users to search via multiple queries. Other spatial
analysis techniques include cluster analysis and point enrichment which will provide additional
program insight by analyzing patterns; for example, identifying areas that are underserved by
energy efficiency programs, identifying proximity to community action centers that distribute
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or Weatherization Assistance
Program (WAP) funds.

ii) Integration with External Available Datasets: The collected data will be integrated with other
datasets to identify correlations and insights about the dynamics of the programs. For example,
by adding a GIS layer of census data regarding poverty levels, low-income geographical areas
with the highest energy burdens will be identified, which can be used to prioritize available
resources in those areas. Other valuable data variables include housing age, tenure, type
(including mobile home), and heating source. Integrated metrics will be created by combining
multiple independent metrics such as economic hardship per degree temperature beyond
heating/cooling day to help prioritize and allocate funds between programs based on
organizations program objectives. iii) Implementing Utility Energy analysis software: ResiSpeak
is an innovative utility analysis software used to collect and analyze utility meter data. It
normalizes homeowner gas and electricity usage according to the weather, climate, and home
size to identify individual homes with the highest energy intensity. ResiSpeak will track energy
usage of the home after upgrades have been completed, and quantify energy savings associated
with implementing efficiency measures. ResiSpeak data and the GIS database will be used to
create simulations where impacts of implementing different energy-related programs are
explored to inform decision making. For example, simulations can be used to demonstrate which
neighborhoods or homes to target when the objective is to reduce overall energy costs in low
income housing. These neighborhoods may be different if the objective is to minimize overall
emissions associated with energy usage. The interaction of various strategies will be explored
using these simulation environments and considering roll-out as a function of time. With input
from the beneficiaries user group the technical team will use game-theoretic and market-based
system design frameworks to simulate strategy effectiveness and inform data-driven decisions.
The PEEIF will leverage established standard protocol for data collection and analysis
methodologies to support consistency and cross- compatibility of analysis outcomes. The intent
is to develop a user friendly tool that will be supported after the project period by providing
value to organizations including utilities, state and local government and energy efficiency
service providers.

The figure below shows the flow-chart of the implementation of the data analysis tool-

Figure 1: Flowchart detailing the framework of the data analysis tool.Feasibility: PEEIF uses
existing partners, data, tools, and systems combined in a new, innovative, and integrated manner
for dramatic results. Project team members have the required management and technical
expertise. UCPCOG has professional project conveners/facilitators/managers with over 45 years
or relevant project experience. NC State University technical team members have previous
success building enterprise geospatial databases for state and federal governments. All of the
data providing stakeholders providing letters of support (Choanoke Area Development
Association of N.C., Electricities, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, N.C.
Housing Finance Agency, Roanoke Electric Cooperative and Wilson Electric) will engage to
resolve legal

and data security issues. The Vermont Law School (VLS) and the NC State University technical
project team has legal expertise and have prior work on data security issues. With both the legal
and technical experience, the Center for Geospatial Analytics will develop a framework that the
data providing organizations will feel comfortable and confident utilizing after development.
Once database is complete, resulting greenhouse gas emissions and household energy intensity
reductions will be facilitated through project partner organizations experience in North
Carolinas energy landscape. The NC Sustainable Energy Association has been instrumental in
the implementation of the states Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard; the N.C. Justice Center
is the states leading nonprofit working on issues of concern to the states low- and middle-
income residents; and the NC Clean Energy Technology Center has over two decades technical
and outreach expertise across the energy spectrum. This unique collaborative opportunity will be
leveraged by Upper Coastal Plain, its 46 member governments, and numerous community
service organizations experience in meeting the needs of the region. It can also be replicated by
council of governments across North Carolina and the utilities that serve these communities.

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Innovation and Impacts: While there have been studies that have identified the potential of
data mining and GIS to increase effectiveness of the energy efficiency programs, the proposed
collaborative project is unique. Current examples of GIS use in the energy efficiency sector
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include the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power , where they used U.S. Census data to
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analyze program participation and track total electricity use. The CA Public Utilities
Commission is undergoing a similar project where they use GIS to visualize utility data at a zip-
code level. The PEEIF project utilizes innovative technology and processes in multiple ways:

i) Collaborative platform: PEEIF creates a unique platform for organizations working in the low
income and energy sectors to collaborate and leverage data for integrated strategic planning to
further both energy efficiency and be impactful in the low income sectors of communities. Each
organization will have a user account to input and view their spatial data, and obtain aggregate
data from other organizations for analysis.

ii) Energy savings tracking: the proposed framework allows measurement of individual energy
savings from participating homes as well as programmatic energy savings from organizations.

iii) Targeted outreach: Outreach will be performed by targeting homes with highest energy
intensity based on analyzing utility data, and geographic regions based on U.S. Census data.iv)
Innovative energy modeling: Proposed framework will include simulations of different scenarios
of implementing various energy related programs. The database will also identify unique energy
related blended metrics for better insight on correlations on different variables.

v) Data security and privacy issues: The team will identify privacy and security concerns and
develop governance framework, incorporating best practice guides and lessons learned from
similar projects as well as input from stakeholders and beneficiaries user group.The project
benefits existing efficiency service providers who have no practical way to prioritize service
areas, nor assess best use of scarce efficiency upgrade funds other than costly energy audits of
individual homes. The proposed PEEIF will provide a comprehensive suite of information to the
many different service providers fingertips to reduce energy consumption.

2 Phillip Kelsven, Leveraging Data Mining and Geographic Information Systems to Gain Energy
Efficiency Market Intelligence, 2012 ACEEE summer study on Energy Efficiency in
Buildings3 Using GIS to target outreach for LADWP customer rebate program4 R.
Rockzsfforde et al. Geospatial Analysis of Californias Utility Services, CA PUC, 05/23/2016
Workplan

Project Objectives: The proposed project will facilitate local government data-driven analysis
and decision making while fostering unique collaborations between multiple government and
non- governmental entities to reduce energy intensity metrics of low income homes.Technical
Scope Summary: Planning, design, promotion, and maintenance of an energy analysis
framework incorporating enterprise geospatial database of energy efficiency programs integrated
with varied external datasets and utility energy monitoring software. Phase I includes
development of data governance and security framework, associated with go/no-go decision
point (D1) of receiving commitment from at least two data providing organizations to provide
data. The second go/no-go decision point (D2) includes development of the geospatial database
at the end of Phase I. Phase II includes building the web portal to access the geodatabase marked
by go/no-go decision point (D3). Outreach about database will lead to successful deployment of
the framework and reductions in household energy intensity.

Work Breakdown Structure and Task Description Summary:PHASE 1: FRAMEWORK

AND DATABASE DEVELOPMENT (M1-12))

Task 1.0: Project management, stakeholder engagement, and process development

Subtask 1.1: Organize data providing stakeholders and beneficiaries/users groups (M1-M2)
Subtask 1.2: Develop sub award and vendor agreements (M1- M3)Subtask 1.3: Research
applicable data sharing regulations (M2-M4)Subtask 1.4: Facilitate focus group meetings for
legal, technical, and data integration (M2-M4)

Task 2.0: Data Evaluation and Assessment

Subtask 2.1: Obtain Stakeholder Data through secure FTP Portal (M2-M4)Subtask 2.3:
Investigate Public Records to Identify & Record Housing Data (M2-M8) Subtask 2.4 :
Determine applicability of existing web-based external datasets (M2-M6) Subtask 2.5: Identify
Unique Decision-Making Metrics (M3-M6)

Task 3.0: Design Enterprise Geospatial Database

Subtask 3.1: Integrate decision-making metrics developed in subtask 2.5 (M6-M7) Subtask 3.2:
Design Conceptual Database Model (M6 - M7)Subtask 3.3: Design Logical Database Model
(M6 - M7)Subtask 3.4: Design Governance Schema for Model (M4-M7)

Subtask 3.5: Integrate feedback of beneficiaries & data providers (M7-M8)

Task 4.0: Enterprise Geodatabase Development (M7- M12)

Subtask 4.1: Identify and establish physical infrastructure & software (M7)Subtask 4.2: Create
database & database users (M7)Subtask 4.3: Associate local database user schema with newly
established database (M7) Subtask 4.4: Develop data definition language & data modification
language (M7-M9) Subtask 4.5: Develop & integrate spatial tables with aspatial data
(M10)Subtask 4.6: Demonstrate Alpha version of the database (M11)Subtask 4.7: Refine and
debug the database based on initial tests (M12)PHASE 2: IMPLEMENTATION,
OUTREACH, AND EDUCATION (M13-M24)

Task 5.0: Design the Web GIS Delivery Interface

Subtask 5.1: Generate expanded list of program users (M13)Subtask 5.2: Determine web portal
groups and associate membership roles (M13) Subtask 5.3: Develop applicable web
maps/graphics (M13)Subtask 5.4: Develop analysis tools (M13)

Task 6: Develop and Launch Web GIS Portal (M13-M20)

Subtask 6.1: Create and assign users to groups (M13)Subtask 6.2: Develop web GIS services
(M13 - M14)Subtask 6.3: Create Web GIS maps and associate with groups (M14-M17) Subtask
6.4: Incorporate analysis tools (M14-M17)Subtask 6.5: Create aggregate data map display(s)
(M14- M17)Subtask 6.6: Demonstrate Alpha version of the Web GIS portal (M18) Subtask 6.7:
Refine the Web GIS portal content (M18- M20)Subtask 6:8: Launch Web GIS portal (M21)

Task 7.0: Product Engagement, Education and Utilization Training

Subtask 7.1: Beneficiary Stakeholder Identification (M13-M22) Subtask 7.2: Create user manual
(M19)Subtask 7.3: Program Implementation and Review (M18-M24) Subtask 7.4: Stakeholder
and Peer Outreach and Education (M13-M24)

Task 8.0: Sustain and explore replicability of the project.

Subtask 8.1: Program promotion (M21-M24)Subtask 8.2: Explore program replicability (M21-
M24) Subtask 8.3: Sustainability (M13-M24)Milestone Summary:

Go/No-Go Decision Points:Decision Point 1: Commitment from at least 2 data providing

stakeholders to provide data. Decision Point 2: Produce visual display of geospatial database
(locations, analysis results) and share with stakeholders. Achieve consensus to move
forward.Decision Point 3: Provide final Web GIS portal to project partners.

Project Schedule: Note Mi= Milestones

# Summary # Summary

Integrate programmatic tables, for

1.3 Develop data governance framework. 4.5
applicable program participants.

Develop/engage Beneficiaries
2.1 Obtain data from data providing organizations. 5.1
Stakeholders Group.

Develop group lists to compartmentalize

2.2 Compare and catalog data structure 5.2
web maps

2.4 Finalize integration of applicable external datasets 5.3 Develop list of thematic maps/graphics

Define decision making metrics, draft preliminary

2.5 5.4 Develop list of analysis needs
models

Create groups, assign users to

3.1 Define properties of decision-making metrics
6.1 appropriate groups

Publish Web GIS services, assign

3.2 Create a conceptual database diagram 6.2
appropriate group
3.3 Create a logical database diagram 6.3 Create Web GIS maps

Design data security and governance schema for 6.5 Display aggregate data. e.g. Income
3.4
database level ranges

Modify conceptual and logical models based on Demonstrate the Web GIS portal
3.5 6.6
stakeholder feedback. functionality

Select & provision infrastructure hardware & Expand the Beneficiaries Stakeholder
4.1 7.1
software. Group (BSG)

Implement physical database structure, populate Create an instructional video and user
4.2 7.2
database, and establish users. guide

Associate local database user(s) with the Track energy savings and GHG
4.3 7.3
appropriate database reductions

Engage/educate regions
4.4 Create DDL & DML in ASCII 7.4 users/beneficiaries about the tool and its
use