Have you ever been caught on the horns of a dilemma? If you have, then you’ve experienced the challenges that those of us providing energy conservation services to hard-to-reach customers face.

UCONS, a 20-year-old full-service energy-services company based in Kirkland, Wash., is the nation’s leading provider of conservation services to hard-to-reach customers. UCONS’ focus is in providing energy- and water-efficiency services to underserved sectors (apartments, small commercial properties and mobile-home parks). UCONS has served more than 300,000 multifamily customers in the Pacific Northwest, California, Utah, Texas and New York. Of course, there are far more customers in need of conservation services than we can serve. This population requires a commitment from policy officials and utilities to realize it is an important sector to target.

Who are so-called “hard-to-reach” customers, what factors make them hard to reach, and why do such customers tend not to invest in energy conservation strategies and tools?

Who are conservation’s hard-to-reach customers?

This market is composed of people who typically live in multifamily apartment complexes and mobile homes—a large population. (Current census data for the Northwest indicate more than 2 million ratepayers reside in multifamily or mobile-home housing.) UCONS has served more than 150,000 such customers. We have previously provided comprehensive energy-efficiency measures to tenants and mobile-home customers of Puget Sound Energy, Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, Energy Trust of Oregon and Snohomish County Public Utility District. We are currently working with Spokane-based Avista Corp. to provide energy-conservation programs to its customers living in multifamily housing in Idaho.

Tenant customers in the multifamily market are typically not able to purchase a home. Many are immigrants, single-parent families, young couples, seniors, in transition or disabled.

What makes customers hard to reach?

Such customers are multiple decision makers (i.e., property managers and owners or mobile home park managers), meaning they make decisions for their many tenants. Customers living in mobile homes are typically on a fixed or lower income. Marketing to such customers must address the needs of both the ratepayer and the park manager.

Tenants typically reside in an apartment building for a short period of time. While they pay the utility bills, they are not motivated to purchase new or more energy-efficient appliances, thermostats and aerators because they don’t own their home. Tenants generally lack the financial resources to pay for or recover their investment in such technologies. In addition, such customers are often unaware of how to get property owners and managers involved with utility-sponsored conservation programs.

Property owners and managers are on the other end of the equation. Because they don’t pay the energy bills, they aren’t particularly motivated to invest in and install energy-efficient appliances and building insulation measures. The conundrum is called a split incentive. To serve this market, UCONS has had to carefully construct programs that provide benefits to both tenants and building managers and owners.

Developing a comprehensive strategy

Serving this market poses many challenges. Three entities have to be considered: the owner of the building, the property or park manager and the end-use customer. Each has different needs and brings a different perspective to the table. UCONS has designed conservation programs and service-delivery strategies that can gain the attention and support of each customer by:

• eliminating tenant or mobile home owner contributions
• reducing and/or eliminating property-owner contributions
• providing energy savings and benefits to each decision maker
• providing easy-to-implement strategies that minimize the work of property managers
  

UCONS has learned, by working with many utilities in jurisdictions in Oregon, California, Texas, Utah and New York, that eliminating and reducing customer contributions is simply not enough.

Our programs are structured to install measures quickly and easily. We recognize property managers must give their tenants notice before they can enter their apartments. If we have to enter a mobile home park or apartment several times for pre-inspection, installation of measures and post-inspections, the manager and the end user could become pretty fed up with the process. It is burdensome, and we usually won’t get many takers.

Thus, we have constructed programs that use local contractors and target energy-saving measures to reduce the burden on the property manager and increase the tenants’ awareness of the potential benefits.

What are the benefits?

UCONS has found the conservation benefits to this population are extremely favorable. Not only are tenants’ utility bills reduced and their comfort increased, but the property owners also reap savings. Our programs provide a wide range of energy-efficiency measures (depending on region, weather and fuel use). The measures we most typically provide include lighting, water heating, floor and ceiling insulation, infiltration and windows).

UCONS believes conservation is a jewel that should not rest in the crown of the single-family homeowner alone: Hard-to-reach markets are more challenging and require different program strategies, but they are an equally important sector to target today’s conservation programs.

Tom Eckhart is the CEO of UCONS, a full-service energy-services company providing residential and commercial energy services to utilities and public housing authorities. As chair of the National Association of Energy Service Companies residential committee since 1995, Mr. Eckhart has been instrumental in the development of evaluation protocols for the residential sectors that meet International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol.