Improving the consistency of energy efficiency data: A landscape of decision makers and policy needs

This fact sheet by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) examines the need for harmonizing demand-side management (DSM) energy efficiency data in the United States. It argues that while DSM programs are widespread and budgets have grown to over $8 billion as of 2011, inconsistent evaluation methods and reporting practices hinder their effectiveness in climate policy-making. The document maps various policy drivers for data harmonization—ranging from integrated resource planning to the Clean Air Act—and identifies the specific decision-makers and potential climate benefits associated with creating common definitions and reporting formats.

• Demand-side management (DSM) programs are implemented in every U.S. state, with budgets that more than doubled in the four years leading up to 2011, exceeding $8 billion in that year.
• Although DSM programs are thoroughly evaluated at the jurisdictional level across the U.S., the lack of consistent reporting practices and evaluation methods limits their utility for energy and climate policy decisions.
• Harmonizing DSM data through common definitions and reporting formats would support several critical policy needs, including: improving evaluation, monitoring, and verification (EM&V) practices; assessing aggregate program effectiveness; integrating efficiency into grid planning; expanding energy efficiency finance; and establishing equivalency for Clean Air Act (CAA) regulations.
• The Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership (NEEP) is implementing the Regional Energy Efficiency Database (REED) to make program data from the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states more accessible and comparable, which may help independent system operators (ISOs) use efficiency to displace GHG-emitting generation in grid planning.

APA

Laughlin, K., & Zuckerman, J. (2012). Improving the consistency of energy efficiency data: A landscape of decision makers and policy needs. Climate Policy Initiative. http://climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Improving-Consistency-of-Energy-Efficiency-Data.pdf

Chicago

Laughlin, Karen, and Julia Zuckerman. Improving the consistency of energy efficiency data: A landscape of decision makers and policy needs. Climate Policy Initiative, 2012. http://climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Improving-Consistency-of-Energy-Efficiency-Data.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Laughlin |first1=Karen |last2=Zuckerman |first2=Julia |title=Improving the consistency of energy efficiency data: A landscape of decision makers and policy needs |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=November 2012 |url=http://climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Improving-Consistency-of-Energy-Efficiency-Data.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{laughlin2012improving, author = {Laughlin, Karen and Zuckerman, Julia}, title = {{Improving the consistency of energy efficiency data: A landscape of decision makers and policy needs}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2012}, month = nov, url = {http://climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Improving-Consistency-of-Energy-Efficiency-Data.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }