STRATEGIC PLAN AIMS TO REFLECT REGION’S THINKING

According to Cal Shirley, vice president of Energy Efficiency Services for Puget Sound Energy and chair of NEEA’s Strategic Planning Committee, the process was designed to be as inclusive as possible. To that end, Shirley says more than 1600 people across the Northwest have been invited to participate.

“What success would look like in the end is if we have been able to get feedback from all parts of the region, whether it’s urban, rural, East or West of the Cascades, public versus investor utilities, environmental groups and so on,” Shirley said. “I think we’ll be able to say at the end of the process that we had a robust process and we really tried to get everyone’s feedback.”

In efforts to achieve this kind of participation, NEEA’s Strategic Planning Committee began implementing a two-stage outreach process.

The first phase is an intensive community outreach and information gathering process which began in April 2008. During this stage, NEEA launched its strategic planning input portal that includes an online survey.  NEEA also organized six public workshops, with a seventh and final workshop scheduled for June 9 in Boise, Idaho. Each board member is holding meetings with his or her utility general managers or CEO as well as meeting with industry leaders and relevant industry associations. In the month of May alone, the committee and NEEA board members will have conducted more than 60 individual events or meetings.

According to Karen Horkitz, NEEA senior market research and evaluation manager who is the staff lead for the strategic planning process, there has been a good level of participation from stakeholders. “So far the reception has been positive,” she said. “Everyone seems to appreciate the opportunity to participate in the process.”

During the second phase, NEEA will synthesize all of this input and begin drafting components of the strategic plan. This, along with a summary of its initial findings from the outreach effort, will be posted on the NEEA website in June for additional feedback. Stakeholders will be able to comment on the strategic plan, as it is drafted, throughout the summer. 

In October 2008 NEEA’s Strategic Planning Committee will send a final strategic plan to the full Board for approval.

NEEA’S ROLE IN THE REGION IS UNIQUE

According to Horkitz, NEEA’s strategic plan will set its direction for the next five years. “This region, like others, is facing significant challenges driven by increasing energy supply constraints and concerns over climate change, and market actors are trying to figure out how to address them,” Horkitz said. “The way we’re going through the process and how we designed it will ensure that we get a comprehensive perspective on how NEEA can best help the region achieve its energy efficiency goals.”

While the process is still in its early stages, Shirley and Horkitz say some preliminary themes have emerged on how NEEA can continue to help the region meet its energy efficiency goals.

According to Horkitz, stakeholders universally value NEEA’s role in expanding the supply of energy efficiency products, services, and business practices—by influencing manufacturers, distributors and trade allies, as well as through education and training programs.

In addition, other new perspectives on NEEA’s role in the region have emerged.

“The key things we’ve seen from our survey already are that the majority of folks responding feel NEEA’s efforts should be fuel blind,” Shirley said. “Another theme we’re seeing is that there should be a focus on emerging technologies.”

Shirley also added that there’s an important underlying theme to all of the discussions that has emerged as well, which is that there is a need for NEEA’s work in the region regardless of whether this role shifts, expands or stays the same.

“An underlying theme I’ve noticed is that people see there is a reason for NEEA to stick around,” Shirley said. “You could have had people who said NEEA’s done a good job, thank you very much and let’s go home. I’m not hearing that.”

Shirley added that the collaboration between all of the utilities and regional stakeholders is what makes NEEA and its work so unique and powerful.

“NEEA brings a presence and value to market transformation that utilities and regional stakeholders can’t achieve acting individually,” he said. “However (market transformation) is defined, when you talk about transforming markets there are things we (utilities and regional stakeholders) just can’t do on our own.”

To participate: http://nwalliance.org/participate