The following is an announcement from Seattle City Light.

Seattle City Light is happy to announce the launch of our Pay for Performance program.

The Deep Retrofit Pay for Performance (P4P) program has been designed to enable customers to achieve energy efficiency through incentive payments, which are made over time and based on energy savings measured at the electric meter. This differs from the standard approach of offering an upfront incentive payment based on the estimated energy savings from an energy conservation measure.

Since savings are measured at the meter in P4P, savings can come from building retrofits and equipment upgrades, as well as behavioral, operational and maintenance (O&M), and retro-commissioning activities. Participants receive a set incentive rate for energy savings achieved over the course of a defined performance period (either three or five years). Incentive payments are made at the end of each year of the performance period.

After the successful conclusion of the Pay for Performance pilot program, City Light has worked with many of you over the past two years to get to this day. We want to thank you for helping us design better programs. From one-on-one conversations with City Light staff to participating in formal workshops, your participation, support and input has been invaluable.

Please join Seattle City Light at the Smart Buildings Center in Seattle (Wednesday, October 31, 2018 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM), to learn more about the new Deep Retrofit Pay for Performance Program. You’ll learn about how the program works, how your business can benefit from participating, and what you need to get started!

Join us in person (Limited Availability) or sign up to follow the event, broadcast as a webinar.

If you have a project that you would like to have considered for Pay for Performance, please contact an Energy Advisor at 206-684-3800 for the first steps to get started.

More information, including the Program Manual, FAQs and a case study, can be found on our website.

The Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment released a new benchmarking analysis report to update trends from energy performance data reported to the City from 2014 – 2016. The report highlights key building energy and emissions metrics for the 3,300 benchmarked buildings and reveals that continuously benchmarked buildings have reduced emissions, saved money, and improved performance over time.

Seattle’s benchmarking program is a key component of Seattle’s climate action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing buildings. Measuring and tracking building performance reveals opportunities to lower energy use. Interested in how your building stacks up? Visit www.seattle.gov/energybenchmarkingmap.

Explore the report here

Explore Seattle’s climate goals here

Highlights from the Seattle Energy Benchmarking Analysis Report include:

• Buildings reporting three or more consecutive years of data have reduced overall energy consumption and greenhouse emissions. From 2014 to 2016, total energy use for these buildings declined 3.7% and total emissions declined 4.8%.
• The median ENERGY STAR score for all buildings has increased by seven points—or 10%—since 2013 while the program has maintained over 99% compliance every year. Additionally, between 2013 and 2016, Seattle’s Energy Benchmarking program added 136 buildings and nearly 43 million square feet of space as Seattle’s construction boom has continued.
• Although energy improvements since 2014 have led to reduced emissions, many buildings still have room for significant improvements. Hotels, hospitals, high-rise multifamily buildings, labs, and restaurants have the highest emissions per square foot and offer the largest savings opportunities.

We hope you are inspired to make a tax-deductible donation to the Smart Buildings Center Education Program.  Your contribution can help us progress the SBCEP mission to advance the adoption of smart technologies and practices through education and demonstration.  With your support, the SBCEP can continue to bring you valuable events like the Why Smart Buildings Executive Forums and will enable us to develop other content and programs to further our collective goals in the industry.

By donating even a small amount, you will be helping the SBCEP succeed AND with help from an anonymous donor, we are able to match your donation through the end of the year! (donations matched up to $15,000).  Click on the button below to donate today, and we sincerely appreciate your continued support of the SBCEP!