Becki,

You have it right–the Save A Watt program and the program proposed by NC WARN and others simply means higher costs.

I do want to stress that I’m against a third party administrator
running a program just as much as I’m against Duke running the
program.   I also don’t think it would be legal for the
Utilities Commission, without new legislation, to adopt the alternative
idea.

As my new paper (coming soon!) points out, many of the arguments that
opponents of Save-A-Watt have made are also applicable to a third party
administrator running a program.

The underlying premise of energy efficiency programs is that consumers
are too stupid to know whether it is in their own interests to buy
energy efficient goods and services.  As a result, we need
everybody to pay a hidden tax in their electricity bills to subsidize
incentives.  These incentives go to people that do the “right
thing,” as defined by Duke or another program administrator.

Basically, the government is going to centrally plan home appliance purchases.

I do want to point out something that makes the NC WARN proposal even
worse than Save A Watt.  Their plan is to mandate the reduction of
energy use by 1% every
year by 2018.  At least with Save A Watt, there is no
mandate.  Electricity consumers, not the program administrator,
would pay to meet that mandate.  There’s no cap on costs when it
comes to the energy efficiency component of S.B. 3–the costs to meet
this could be far more than Save A Watt–especially based on the farce
of figuring out the savings achieved by an energy efficiency program.

Oh, by the way, guess what the Utilities Commission is keeping
confidential?  The cost to consumers for Save A Watt. 
Back-door dealing was invented at the Utilities Commission (I don’t
have a cite for that).  Of course, it is just a little thing like
COST!  Hello?

“For the Company’s [Duke) residential programs, the program
administrator revenue per lifetime kWh saved [actual cost to consumers]
ranges from $(Confidential) per lifetime kWh saved to $(Confidential).”
 

– Page 8 (also see pages 9-10) of Redacted Testimony of Richard F. Spellman (Mr. Spellman was the Public Staff’s “star witness.”)

Energy Efficiency Programs: Central planning by a few that is completely hidden from public view. Where have I seen that before?