Energy Efficiency Potential in Ohio

This paper reviews the energy savings potential in Ohio available to meet the requirements under the state’s energy efficiency standard enacted by Senate Bill 221. First, we focus on four energy efficiency studies by the investor-owned utilities (IOUs) in Ohio that were prepared between 2012 and 2014 to analyze the potential for deploying efficiency measures within their service territories. ACEEE’s review of these studies finds that while they identify significant, cost-effective energy potential in the state through the next 10–20 years, they often underestimated the full efficiency potential in certain areas. This paper identifies several emerging technologies and best practice strategies to encourage customer participation in programs that can yield significant additional energy savings but that were not fully considered in the studies. Finally, the paper examines two specific utility program portfolios from other states as an example of utilities that have consistently achieved electricity savings of 1.7–2% or more per year in recent years, a level that on average would be sufficient to meet the SB 221 targets from 2014 through 2025.