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Conservation Resources Advisory Committee
April 2, 2002
MEMORANDUM
TO: Conservation Resources Advisory Committee
FROM: Tom Eckman
SUBJECT: Inaugural Meeting
I would like to invite you to the first meeting of the Council's Conservation Resources Advisory Committee. The meeting will be held at the Council's Portland Office on April 17th from 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM. For those of you flying into Portland International Airport, you can now ride the MAX light rail trains from the airport to downtown. The Council's offices are one block south of the ?Pioneer Square? stop. The building we are in has two entrances. If you enter from Broadway, the address is 850 SW Broadway. If you enter from Sixth Avenue the address is 851 SW Sixth.
This first meeting we will focus on the Committee's work plan and meeting schedule and begin discussing some of the major policy issues the Council intends to address in its next plan. A meeting agenda and meeting materials will be e-mailed to later this week. However, just to give you some idea of the day's activities here's a short synopsis of what we will be covering.
As I mentioned in my initial invitation requesting your assistance, the Committee's role will focus primarily on five areas:
- Evaluate the role conservation might play in the current and
anticipated future utility regulatory environments.
- Identify technical, cost, environmental, institutional and other barriers
to the development of new conservation resources.
- Provide feedback and suggestions for improving the effectiveness of the
conservation resource development programs and activities in the region.
- Develop policies and actions to resolve barriers to the development of new
conservation resources, particularly as related to the need to stabilize the
region's annual investment in conservation.
- Assist the Council's Regional Technical Forum (RTF) in its assessment of
1) the current performance, cost and availability of new conservation
resources; 2) technology development trends; and 3) the effect of these
trends on the future performance, cost and availability of new conservation
resources.
The first item on our agenda will be discussion of the analysis the Council is undertaking to determine whether there are economic benefits to the region of stabilizing annual conservation investments rather than continuing to deploy conservation based on short-run market and resource supply conditions. We are in the very early stages to this analysis and we will be seeking Committee input on our proposed approach and assumptions.
The second item will be a discussion of the role the Committee would like to play in reviewing the analytical work of the Regional Technical Forum (RTF). The RTF has developed estimates of the cost and savings for a wide range of energy efficiency measures, mostly in the residential sector, for use in Bonneville's Conservation and Renewable Resources Rate Discount Program. Historically, the Conservation Resources Advisory Committee has 'vetted? the Council staffs? conservation assessments. The RTF is currently providing this function but the Committee may decide it wishes to provide its own review of this work. As part of this discussion we will be debuting a new web site designed specifically to solicit public comment on the Council's conservation resource assessment.
The third major item on the agenda will be a open discussion of issues related to conservation resource development that Committee members believe should be addressed in the Council next plan. In early February the Council released an issue paper (Council document 2002-01) for public comment. This paper laid out nine major topic areas that it intended to address in its fifth Plan. While only one of the nine issues is explicitly focused on sustaining the economically efficient investment in energy efficiency, the resolution of several others could significantly impact the region's ability to accomplish this. The staff in interested in soliciting you input on how the resolution of related issues, such as the future role of Bonneville in resource development might help or hinder the region's ability to develop cost-effective conservation opportunities.
I look forward to seeing you on the 17th. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions to comments regarding the proposed agenda or the Committee's activities.