Department of Energy Smart Grid Data Access GrantMasterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Submission of DOE Smart Grid Data Access Grant
DATE: March 9, 2012
Dubuque
bierd
All-America City
1
2007
Sustainable Community Coordinator Cori Burbach is requesting approval of the
application to the Department of Energy Smart Grid Data Access program in the amount
of $500,000.
The Smart Grid Data Access Grant is a highly competitive grant program administered
by the Department of Energy with the goal of empowering residential consumers to
better manage their electricity use by enabling access to consumption data by
residential customers and their authorized third parties, and providing or supporting the
use of third -party tools and software products that utilize the available data to deliver a
value -added service to the customer. The grant objectives closely mirror the objectives
set by the Smarter Electricity partnership with IBM as part of the Smarter Sustainable
Dubuque project.
The objective of Phase I of the program, which the City is applying for, is to support
utilities and communities that wish to begin to explore the value of empowering end -use
residential consumers with products and services that hinge upon access to electricity
consumption data by residential customers. The objective of Phase II, which is
accessible to communities who receive funding and implement Phase I, is to adopt the
data access pilot demonstrated across an entire service territory, region or community
within the jurisdiction of the applicant's utility partner.
The $500,000 requested would be used in the following way over a one -year time
frame:
• $60,000 in salary and benefits for the Sustainable Community Coordinator and
Smarter Sustainable Dubuque Helpdesk position,
• $45,000 in supplies to support outreach efforts (mailings, printings, meeting
spaces, surveys, etc),
• $310,000 to IBM for Smarter Electricity portal services,
• $30,000 in technology costs for providing intermediary data services to other
communities to link to IBM's system,
• $25,000 for engagement incentives and rewards, and
• $30,000 for the development and testing of alternative communication strategies
for customer data and interaction, including mobile devices, instant messaging,
social media and on -line communications.
$500,000 in in -kind match is provided by the City of Dubuque, IBM, Algona Municipal
Utilities, Cedar Falls Utilities and the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
Michael C. Van Milligan
MCVM:sv
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Cori Burbach, Sustainable Community Coordinator
2
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TO Michael Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM Cori Burbach, Sustainable Community Coordinator
DATE March 1, 2012
SUBJECT Submission of DOE Smart Grid Data Access Grant
Dubuque
had
NI- America City
'I 1 1 I'
2007
INTROD UCTION
The purpose of this memo is to request Council approval of the attached City of Dubuque application to the Department of
Energy Smart Grid Data Access program in the amount of $500000
BACKGROUND
The Smart Grid Data Access Grant is a highly competitwe grant program administered by the Department of Energy with the
goal of empowering residential consumers to better manage their electricity use by enabling access to consumption data by
residential customers and their authorized third parties, and providing or supporting the use of third -party tools and software
products that utilize the available data to deliver a value -added service to the customer The grant objectives closely mirror
the objectives set by the Smarter Electricity partnership with IBM as part of the Smarter Sustainable Dubuque project
The objective of Phase I of the program, which the City is applying for, is to support utilities and communities that wish to
begin to explore the value of empowering end -use residential consumers with products and services that hinge upon access
to electricity consumption data by residential customers The objective of Phase II, which is accessible to communities who
receive funding and implement Phase I, is to adopt the data access pilot demonstrated across an entire service territory,
region or community within the jurisdiction of the applicant's utility partner
DISCUSSION
The City of Dubuque is partnering with Alliant Energy, Algona Municipal Utilities, Cedar Falls Utilities, the Iowa Association of
Municipal Utilities (IAMU), and IBM on this Smarter Electricity Iowa project to pilot and test how Smart Grid- enabled
technologies can help consumers to better monitor their electric energy consumption and make more informed choices about
the energy they are using At the heart of the application is Dubuque's Smarter Electricity pilot, which has 1 000 meters
installed in volunteer residences Due to moving, desire to leave the pilot, and other reasons, the Smarter Electricity pilot has
less than 1,000 active households Because of Alliant's current plans for deployment of smart meters, it was necessary to
reach out to other communities that were pursuing similar goals in terms of smart meters and customer access to data
Municipally -owned utilities in Algona and Cedar Falls currently have plans to instalAMl smart electric meters By partnering
with these two communities, IBM and Dubuque will be able to transfer lessons learned from the Smarter Electricity pilot and
determine the replicability of these tools in other communities The communities will also partner with the Iowa Association of
Municipal Utilities to to disseminate information on the project to its statewide members
If successful in Phase I, the partnership would to expand the adoption of smart meters and use of the portal in three
subphases
• First, to municipally -owned utilities, due to their physical and political control of thesystems, making it easier for early
adoption,
• Next, to rural electric cooperatives, as the value of smart meters and complementaryonline tools is proven to the
membership,
• Finally, to investor -owned utilities, providing that the data can demonstrate the financialbasis for smart meter
expansion
The $500000 requested would be used in the following way over a one -year time frame
• $60,000 in salary and benefits for the Sustainable Community Coordinator and Smarter Sustainable Dubuque
Helpdesk position,
• $45,000 in supplies to support outreach efforts (mailings, printings, meeting spaces, surveys, etc),
• $310,000 to IBM for Smarter Electricity portal services,
• $30,000 in technology costs for providing intermediary data services to other communities to link to IBM's system,
• $25,000 for engagement incentives and rewards, and
• $30,000 for the development and testing of alternative communication strategies for customer data and interaction,
including mobile devices, instant messaging, social media and on -line communications
$500,000 in in -kind match is provided by the City of Dubuque, IBM, Algona Municipal Utilities, Cedar Falls Utilities and the
Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities
ACTION TO BE TAKEN
I respectfully request Council approval of the submission of the Smarter Electricity Iowa application to the DOE Smart Grid
Data Access grant program in the amount of $500,000
cc
David Lyons, Smarter Sustainable Dubuque Project Manager
Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager
SMARTER ELECTRICITY IOWA
niZal .1.11,121r1"
-- 51306458 a;;<:
1111111110.10 1111.89181111111
iFTR TYPE iSA2 sinus
1tll'.IIIIIIIIItiUll
-ramp,^,.vxii-(AI.v Rrprmer February :say [N.xe) 'NM Rank xn .r' klx
285958 725/837 34% 22 979
JUN
IJ.. 1u0.1,11
•4
R7. .AUG SEP ■GT
III����IIIIIII��I.III.. � �.•
IIaI IIIn�IIll��l
un.umpuur q l lour
1 -:m W-
=D' 12:m
111111 1 1 I•i'i 1
NOV ECG
.I....
■■■■.■11111111111t
twua.ueum.wpD
IAN
itt l l l 111111
IMTI
mse.>v..v:w��au txa. :� ��r �w•y.v:J
8
Hx pe lua<Dro:m[wn
1.1 -.
IIr mm
UJ a.l.t a.u.a u.n...t .a.. u.. n - u.....
o J•■ a :r , l s :D. 56eeea '' x'J.PD4 <n; 1 ^Y.1e 1 kn •
Maul
Application to U.S. Department of Energy
Smart Grid Data Access Grant
Funding Opportunity Number: DE- FGA - 0000579
Submitted: March 1, 2012
A Partnership of
THE CITY OF ) A L L I A N T
Dus E ENERGY
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
:F'.UAR FALLS
Ups
The Power ofscmce
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PROJECT OBJECTIVES 3
MERIT REVIEW CRITERION DISCUSSION 4
Quality of Approach (Criterion 1) 4
Potential Impact (Criterion 2) 10
Project Team Capabilities (Criterion 3) 12
RELEVANCE AND OUTCOMES /IMPACTS 14
ROLE OF PARTICIPANTS 15
MULTIPLE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS 15
FACILITIES AND OTHER RESOURCES 15
EQUIPMENT 15
STATEMENT OF PROJECT OBJECTIVES (SOPO) 15
Objectives 15
Scope of Work 16
Tasks to Be Performed 16
Deliverables 20
Briefings 20
THIRD PARTIES CONTRIBUTING TO COST SHARING 20
APPENDICES
1. Community Survey
2. Authorization Form
3. Third Parties Contributing to Cost Sharing
2
The City of Dubuque is partnering with Alliant Energy, Algona Municipal Utilities, Cedar Falls Utilities,
the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities (IAMU) and IBM on this Smarter Electricity Iowa project to
pilot and test how Smart Grid- enabled technologies can help consumers to better monitor their electric
energy consumption and make more informed choices about the energy they are using. This project
builds upon Dubuque's Smarter Water project, which uses smart water meters and other online
technologies to help residents understand their consumption of water, and which has already reduced
water consumption by 6.6 percent.
Minnaasta
LD MIME EME/11k
mimmum111111
staminvommarlff
immolmimmom
Wisconsin
6uque •
Nebraska
Missouri
Illinois
Figure 1
Participating Communities
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the overall Smarter Electricity Iowa project are to:
• Dramatically reduce household energy consumption;
• Shift customer peak demand to periods of lower overall system demand, decreasing the need for
peak load production; and
• Create economic (e.g., new jobs and markets), environmental and social benefits in communities
that adopt Smart Grid- enabled technologies.
The specific objectives of Phase I of the project are to:
• Provide residential customers with useful information through Smart Grid- enabled tools to help
them to better manage their electricity consumption;
• Offer customers a range of technology opportunities and user interfaces (e.g., web, smart phones)
to monitor their energy data;
• Identify outreach messages and communication tools that effectively persuade customers to
become engaged in efforts to reduce electricity consumption;
• Determine the types of incentives and rewards that keep customers engaged;
• Develop enriched information and insights that meets the needs of diverse groups; and
• Demonstrate the feasibility of these Smart Grid- enabled approaches in investor -owned utilities,
and municipally -owned utilities and rural cooperatives.
The specific objectives of Phase II of the project are to:
• Identify a city to roll out the tested Smart Grid - enabled tools community -wide; and
• Work to expand the adoption of smart meters and use of the portal in three distinct subphases:
o First, to municipally -owned utilities, due to their physical and political control of the
systems, making it easier for early adoption;
3
o Next, to rural electric cooperatives, as the value of smart meters and complementary
online tools is proven to the membership; and
o Finally, to investor -owned utilities, providing that the data can demonstrate the financial
basis for smart meter expansion.
This project supports and is complementary of the Smart Grid standards work of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST). As identified in the NIST Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid
Interoperability Standards, Release 2.0, there is an urgent need to establish Smart Grid standards and
protocols to ensure that the many elements of the Smart Grid work together seamlessly. Dubuque's key
utility partners have been actively engaged in this Smart Grid standards development process; for
example, Alliant Energy is a member of the NIST Smart Grid Interoperability Panel and has been part of
the development of NIST's standards. NIST's specific Smart Grid standards related to demand response
and consumer energy efficiency, network communications, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), and
cybersecurity are particularly relevant to this project. The team will align its work with these existing
NIST standards, and be responsive to standards currently under development that intersect with the
project. In particular Alliant Energy has supported development of a "Modular Communications
Interface" through its membership in the U -SNAP Alliance, and in the EPRI IntelliGrid Program that
resulted in a reference standard being submitted to MST, and then referred to the Consumer Electronics
Association for potential adoption. Also, Alliant Energy's smart meter technology provider, Sensus, has
been an industry leader in development of security methods and capabilities consistent with best practices
identified through NIST Cyber Security Working Group efforts.
MERIT REVIEW CRITERION DISCUSSION
Quality of Approach (Criterion 1)
The City of Dubuque has a population of 57,637 and 25,029 housing units. Dubuque's electricity needs
are served by Alliant Energy, an investor -owned energy utility that provides electric and natural gas
services to more than 1.4 million customers in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. In 2010, Dubuque
launched its Smarter Electricity pilot study with partners Alliant Energy and IBM. Funded by a grant
from the Iowa Office of Energy Independence, the project is providing a subset of Dubuque residents
with the information and tools they need to make smarter energy choices and reduce their costs and
environmental impact. Dubuque reached out to and identified 1,000 volunteer households to participate
in the study. New AMI meters were installed at these households, and volunteers agreed to allow Alliant
Energy to provide anonymous customer electricity usage data to the City and IBM for analysis. Using an
interactive online tool developed by IBM, the Cloud -based Smarter Energy Conservation Portal, study
participants are able to better understand their electricity use and consider behavioral changes that can
save energy, reduce costs and curb carbon emissions. Beta results demonstrate that volunteer households
have already reduced their energy use by up to 11 percent. Surveys also indicate that 68 percent of study
participants have increased their understanding of personal electricity use.
Dubuque seeks a DOE Smart Grid Data Access Grant to conduct this demonstration over a longer period
of time (all four seasons), conduct more refined communication and outreach with volunteer participants,
test additional customization of its Smart Grid- enabled tools, and analyze different social networking
tools in order to generate higher levels of engagement.
In addition, Dubuque is partnering with municipally -owned utilities in the cities of Algona (population
5,560, 2,711 households) and Cedar Falls (population 39,260, 15,477 housing units) to transfer its lessons
learned and determine the feasibility to replicate these tools in other communities.
• Algona Municipal Utilities serves approximately 3,700 electric customers. Algona Municipal
Utilities has already installed 1,000 smart electric meters and plans to continue installations
throughout 2012 and 2013. Algona Municipal Utilities anticipates that 500 electric customers
will participate in the Smarter Electricity Iowa project.
• Cedar Falls Utilities is a municipally -owned electric utility that provides power to approximately
18,000 customers. Cedar Falls Utilities will be installing approximately 1,150 smart electric
4
meters in its service territory beginning Summer 2012. Cedar Falls Utilities anticipates that up to
200 electric customers will participate in the pilot project with Dubuque and IBM.
Dubuque will also work with IAMU to disseminate information on the Smarter Electricity Iowa project to
its statewide members through its weekly and quarterly publications, as well as through educational
sessions at its annual conferences and business meetings. IAMU will also help develop interest in using
the IBM Smarter Energy Conservation Portal among IAMU's membership of 136 municipal electric
utilities, and provide support for more widespread adoption of the program throughout Iowa.
Targeting the Volunteer Household Study Area
In 2010, Dubuque worked with Alliant Energy and IBM to identify a pilot study area that would be
representative of the community. Dubuque sought 1,000 volunteer households, and designed criteria that
would maximize the following attributes:
• Diversity of residences (e.g., square footage, age of home, home style, type of heating and
cooling);
• Diversity of residents (e.g., race, age of occupants, income level, number of occupants);
• Located in areas where existing Alliant Energy communication infrastructure could transmit the
15 minute read data of the AMI units to the City file transfer protocol (FTP) site; and
• Overlap with Dubuque's existing Smarter Water project area to the maximum extent possible, in
order to provide opportunities for cross -silo analytics.
Based upon these criteria, Dubuque identified a target study area that was comprised of approximately
8,000 households (see Figure 2).
Figure 2
Smarter Electricity Pilot
Study Area
Dubuque will work with Algona and Cedar Falls to identify appropriate study areas within their own
communities, using the selection factors already established by Dubuque and any other community -
specific factors. Target study areas will be identified in Algona and Cedar Falls that will ensure broad
diversity.
5
Enrollment Process
Dubuque's target study area was the focus of a comprehensive outreach and enrollment campaign that
included. but was not limited to:
• Direct mail and e- mails:
• Postcard reminders:
• Call center follow -up:
• Paid and contributed media:
• R'eb sites and newsletters:
• Social media. gaming. smart phone applications. and interactive tools:
• Contests. prizes and community recognition and awards:
• Direct recruitment at community -wide events:
• One -on -One "community cafe" training sessions:
• Indirect recruitment via a campaign by local employers with their employees: and
• General outreach and marketing through newspapers and radio.
In excess of 1.200 households from the target study area volunteered for the Smarter Electricity pilot
study. Interested volunteers were required to submit a survey (see Appendix 1) that captured information
such as:
• Number of adults and children living in household:
• Current electricity usage:
• Interest in reducing electricity bills: and
• Access to the Internet.
Alliant Energy conducted further screenings of the volunteers to eliminate households from participation
for reasons including. but not limited to. irregular bill payment history. renter rather than homeowner.
insufficient network overage. and other applicable criteria.
From the 1.200 volunteers. Dubuque and Alliant selected 1.000 households in 2010 for the pilot study.
Of the original 1.000 pilot households. 795 volunteers are still participating in the study. Some
households have left the study group due to reasons such as moving or insufficient participation.
Dubuque will re- engage engage its volunteer households for the Smarter Electricity Iowa project.
Dubuque will also share its outreach and enrollment materials. surveys and other screening tools with
Algona and Cedar Falls to help them identify appropriate pilot participants. Volunteer participation from
Algona and Cedar Falls will help build the study size beyond 1.000 households. Participation from three
different Iowa cities will also help demonstrate the feasibility of Smart Grid - enabled tools in communities
of different sizes. as well as different electric utility types.
Transmitting Energy Data
All of Dubuque's volunteer households signed an authorization form that enabled Alliant Energy to
transmit meter numbers. energy usage readings and diagnostic information to Dubuque for analysis (see
Appendix 2). With the homeowner's permission..11 meters read and transmit this data to a Tower
Gateway Base station. which is then routed and stored on a Regional Network Interface head -end system.
Alliant Energy extracts meter and customer information from this data and creates a California Metering
Exchange Protocol (CMEP) file that is sent to a secure Dubuque FTP seven days a week, no later than 10
A.M.
Algona and Cedar Falls will use similar processes for homeowner approvals. as well as the readings and
transmission of data. Their data will then be incorporated into Dubuque's existing FTP and analyzed in
the Cloud -based Smarter Energy Conservation Portal.
6
Ensuring Privacy and Data Security
To ensure that participants' information will remain private and secure, personal data is not transmitted
No information that would identify the participating households is contained in the data stream, all data is
maintained in an anonymous format Data is also stored on servers residing behind a firewall All
security meets or exceeds requirements for storage and transmission of energy data
Dubuque will continue to maintain these privacy and data security measures, and these procedures will be
replicated in Algona and Cedar Falls
Providing Residential Customers Access to Electricity Consumption Data
In the summer of 2011, Dubuque, Alliant Energy and IBM rolled out the Smarter Energy Conservation
Portal (see Figure 3) to participating volunteers, empowering households with the information, analysis
and insights based on their electricity consumption data The portal leverages electricity consumption
data collected at 15- minute intervals, employs advanced analytics, and offers dynamic visualization and
activity -based engagement to get consumers to understand and influence consumption The data is
analyzed in the Cloud to trigger alerts and insights about ways of saving energy Volunteers can only
view their own consumption habits, while City management is provided with aggregate data
Sunday February 26, 2012
Energy Consumption Report for
285958
February Usage (kWh)
725 / 837
Trend
34%
Rank
22
b Date /Month -end Cskmete 1 hgher than average Among 30 houaeholds
Green Points
979
JUN
Lulu t n l nI IIII.IIInnIhi111nn1did
wwh
6
4
2
JUL
AUG
1111111IIII „IIIIIIIIIIII 111111111111111111111111
SEP
1111111111111,111I1,111.
OCT
NOV
n „�Il1 amiml, t11nI1mmJIIn111111
Consumption by Hour Sun February 12.2012 E I kWh Consumption Insight
/ / ■\
■
■_ ■_��■ —■ —■ —■ ■ • ■_■
12am Gam Noon 6pm 12am
•
ftv
1500
1000
500
Compad son with Previous Year
11111
0 Jan Mar May
$1 kWh
• eaea, roar
Jul 3ep Nov
DEC
11111111111111111111111111111
JAN
1111111111111111 11111111111
42 kWh
11111,111 11,111111111
suu
Lest month you consumed 1004 OkWh more (273.2 %higher)
than efficient users with similar households 7hts month your
current trend indicates 121 6% higher consumpfon compared to
these users.
Manage your consumption
I Seta goal of 5% reduction for the rest of February Read more
❑ UnpluglV and other appliances when not inuse Read more
2 Use clothes dryer during off peak hours Read more
IBM
Select activity 1 Activitytracking 1 Adivity history 1 Share sier
Figure 3
Smarter Energy
Conservation Portal
The portal is highly scalable and easily expandable Volunteer households in Dubuque will continue to
access the portal during the duration of the Smart Grid Data Access project IBM will also work with
Algona and Cedar Falls to provide volunteers in those cities with information about their energy usage
through the Smarter Energy Conservation Portal
Metrics
The project is designed to measure and analyze household electricity consumption data in the following
ways
• Daily consumption as juxtaposed against typical consumption for that day,
• Accumulated consumption for that month,
• Predicted consumption for that month,
7
• Amount of power used based on a combination of devices that never allow any single 15- minute
interval read to go to zero, consisting of phantom loads or devices that are left on all the time: and
• A comparison of user's consumption to that of the best 20 consumers in the pilot as well as the
average consumption of other pilot participants similar to this consumer.
The portal also provides users with alerts about anomalous usage patterns.
These metrics will be used in the Algona and Cedar Falls demonstrations as well.
Increasing Volunteer Engagement
Dubuque's beta research has shown much promise, with monthly utilization reductions ranging from 3 to
11 percent. Already, participants have indicated significant increases in their understanding of energy
consumption, and have confirmed that the smart meters and online portal have helped them reduce energy
use and save money. However, before Dubuque's system is ready for wide -scale adoption, the City has
identified the need to address several critical fmdings.
A key conclusion of Dubuque's initial research is that project engagement varies by household.
Approximately one -third of participants are highly engaged users of the portal, and seek more data and
need less direction in order to reduce energy use. The middle third of participants demonstrate low to
moderate engagement with the portal, and seek more direction and less data to achieve their energy
reduction goals. The remaining third of participants are not engaged.
With DOE Smart Grid Data Access support. Dubuque and its partners seek to prove that the percentage of
actively engaged households can be increased to at least two- thirds by meeting the needs of less- engaged
customers with additional customization. The project partners want to demonstrate that participant
engagement can be increased by:
• Providing access to energy consumption data through a variety of communication tools (e.g.,
web, smart phones):
• Utilizing outreach tools preferred by customers, including two -way social media:
• Creating incentives that keep customers interested: and
• Developing more enriched information and insights.
To address these social challenges, social incentives have been used to encourage volunteer engagement.
The Dubuque pilot study provided "Green Points" as means to encourage volunteers to conserve energy.
Green Points are assigned based on factors such as number of log -ins, number of activity sign -ups,
replacement of inefficient appliances, participating in off -line sessions, and savings from activities.
In the next phase, the project will enhance these social engagement activities. Participants will be divided
into different subgroups — each group being given different types of incentives and insights. Specifically,
the volunteer base would be divided into 5 equal -sized groups:
• Group 1: No access to portal:
• Group 2: Access to portal but only high level metrics:
• Group 3: Access to portal with metrics and general insights:
• Group 4: Access to portal with metrics, and personalized insights: and
• Group 5: Access to portal with metrics, personalized insights and activity tracking.
Each of the subgroups will be evaluated to determine which approaches are more effective in engaging
citizens and thereby reducing overall energy consumption. Finally, the project will log every activity,
including the time spent by users on different views of the portal, to more accurately capture the micro
level activities and better understand which metrics, insights and views are most attractive to users.
8
Enhancing Communication Tools and Social Media Opportunities
Currently, energy consumption information can only be accessed through the web -based portal. In the
next phase, participants will be provided access to their energy consumption data through a variety of
communication tools (e.g., web, smart phones). Users have also expressed desires to share success stories
using social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter. To better engage citizens, the project will
provide capabilities for users to post and get access to messages at popular social networking sites,
providing a richer experience for participants.
Improving Analytic Capabilities
The developed portal includes various analytical capabilities such as monthly energy consumption
forecasts, consumption trend analysis, neighborhood comparisons, and disaggregation (e.g., cooling
energy estimation, phantom consumption estimations). In this next phase, the team will have the ability
to dynamically turn on and off various analytics, which should provide a better understanding of which
metrics, insights and recommendations are most effective. DOE funding will also help the portal
become more sophisticated in using time -of -day rates to further support customer energy and
cost savings.
Managing Risks
The risk profile to this project is low, due to the fact that all technology being deployed has already been
developed and tested, and nearly all outreach and communication tools have been perfected. Two
external risks that are being managed include:
• Cloud Outages: The system has been developed on a research Cloud that occasionally requires
maintenance and upgrading, sometimes on very short notice. As our volunteer households are
using data in near -real time, any interruption is a customer service concern. We manage this risk
by communicating generally that this is a research project and that some service disruption may
occur from time to time, as well as sending specific information to volunteer households about
planned timing and length of any outages. As this is a very infrequent event, it has not proven a
problem to date.
• Public Misinformation: Smart Grid technologies are an emerging area that the public is just now
beginning to understand. As it is new and can intersect with sensitive public issues (e.g., privacy,
security, health), we have to be aware that public misinformation is a risk to the project. To
counter this risk, we use community outreach to defuse known areas of concern, and survey
volunteers on an on -going basis to detect any new areas of concern that may be emerging. We do
not want to occur in Iowa what has occurred in several other states, namely misinformation about
Smart Grid technology leading to forced abandonment of research and development projects.
Defining the Value Proposition
Finally, with data collected from a large enough sample over a long enough period of time (all four
seasons), incorporating as many variables as possible, the team seeks to develop a value proposition of
Smart Grid activity as it relates to utility companies, utility customers and the community in which these
interactions occur. This value proposition will analyze several important questions:
• At what point does off -peak utilization become high enough to justify a utility implementing the
information system and tools at its own cost?
• At what point are the specific savings available to individual consumers high enough to justify a
self - financing approach to providing these information systems and tools?
• At what point are the opportunities from smart meters high enough from a financial,
environmental and social aspect that they justify broader community financing of the information
systems and tools?
9
Potential Impact (Criterion 2)
User - Friendliness of Smarter Energy Conservation Portal
The Smarter Energy Conservation Portal, which monitors energy consumption every 15 minutes, can be
roughly divided into five functional areas: key performance indicators (KPIs), consumption, insights,
comparisons, and tracking (see Figure 4).
Figure 4 Functional Areas of Smarter Ener. Conservation Portal
Consumption
Comparisons
Sunday February 26, 2012
Energy Consumption Report for
285958
February Usage (KWh)
725 / 837
Trend Rank
34% 22
7r, Oate/ Month-end Estimate Higher than average Among 30 households
Green Points
979 4 KPIs
,16111,1,1 gnlull it
kWn
6
4
2
JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
III III n 114116 wild ��lill, �lllilli
II
IIIIIIIIIIIIIII
II
111111lllllul „IIIII,11
d111111ldutl111111lllllul
Consumption by Hour Sun February 12, 2012 51 kWh Consumption Insight
■ ■ • „.•
12am Gam Noon 6pm 12am
41,
7.r
inn
1.6 00
000
500
Comparison with Previous Year 51 kWh
iiiiiIi•iI
JAN
42 kWh
111111 ll 1111 11h11111 1111114,1,11,11
Last month you consumed 1 000 OkWh more (273.2% higher)
than efficient users with similar households. This month your
current trend indicates 121 6% higher consumption compared to
these users.
■ ULu
Manage your consumption
®®O
4- Insights
LI Set a goal of 596 reduction for the rest of February Read more
❑ Unplug TV and other appliances when not in use Read more
2 Use clothes dryer during aft peak hours Read more .
® 4- Tracking
0 Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov SelectacWrty 1 Adinty tracking 1 Activity history 1
KPIs
The KPIs provide a quick summary of household consumption and conservation at a glance. The KPIs
include: this month's to -date consumption and month -end estimate accounting for weather fluctuations,
usage trends with respect to neighbors' average consumption and rankings among 30 similar households
within the same zip code.
The portal also calculates a household's cumulative Green Points based on portal activities. Green Points
are a metric devised to incentivize citizens to take actions to save energy. Based on a set of predefined
activities, users are rewarded with points and every month a winner is announced.
Consumption
Below the KPI area, the consumption area includes two charts that display a customer's daily total and
hourly consumption. Using the calendar scroller, a user can choose any day to look at the 24 hour energy
consumption. The view can be toggled between kWh and dollars of cost of energy based on a fixed rate
of $0.12/kWh.
Insights
The insight area shows consumer - specific consumption insights that are actionable. For example, if the
comparison analytics determine that the user is wasting a large portion of energy on always -ON devices,
it would provide a more detailed insight about it, including how much waste it translates to on a yearly
basis and what could be the potential savings. The following insights are currently offered:
• Overall consumption in comparison with previous month;
• Overall consumption comparison with that of other similar households;
10
• Phantom consumption as a percentage of total consumption:
• Peak consumption:
• Summer consumption: and
• Contribution of air conditioning load to total consumption.
Comparisons
The comparison area shows three consumer- specific tabbed comparison charts:
• Historical monthly consumption comparison of current and previous year:
• Load category comparison by phantom, small, medium, and large loads: and
• Comparison with other similar households of month -to -date consumption and month -end
prediction.
Tracking
The most valuable feature of this portal is the ability to engage consumers by giving them personalized
insights and encouraging them to act on conservation. This is done by giving them several choices to act
upon and constructing an experiment where they are provided periodic feedback around the impact of the
action they chose. This has the ability to reinforce behavior and help consumers choose actions that are
feasible for them. The actions include:
• Overall consumption reduction:
• Changing light bulbs to compact fluorescents:
• Reducing phantom consumption:
• Reducing peak consumption: and
• Setting thermostat two degrees higher.
A filtering mechanism ensures that only relevant insights and activities are suggested to a specific
customer based on their impact and tractability. In addition, background analytics of the portal track
consumers' interactions with the portal in terms of log -ins, chart clicks and activity views. The portal will
allow customers to share their success stories and testimonials to others who are participating in similar
activities, thus creating social networks that are contextual.
Besides these five important modules, the solution also allows users to receive alerts about anomalous
usage patterns. The portal allows users to define their own alert events.
Ability to Meet the Needs of a i'ariety of Residential Consumers
Dubuque deliberately designed its enrollment process to identify and select volunteer households that
represent a mix of both resident and residence types. The City sought a broad demographic sample in its
study area, and included customers of different races, ages and income levels. So as to facilitate
comparisons between similar households. Dubuque also included residences of many different types.
Residential structures were chosen across a range of ages, occupancies, square footages, home styles (e.g.,
single family, townhome), and heating and cooling types (e.g., central air, electric heat). Similar
procedures will also be followed in Algona and Cedar Falls to ensure that the tools being tested truly meet
the needs of a wide variety of residential consumers.
Potential for Reducing Energy Consumption
The beta research already conducted in Dubuque has shown promise, with monthly utilization reductions
ranging from 3 to 11 percent. Initial surveys of project participants have shown wide satisfaction with the
online portal. Sixty -eight percent of participants have indicated that the tools have increased their
understanding of personal electricity use. Forty-five percent of participants have stated that the tools have
helped them find specific ways to reduce energy consumption based upon their individual usage patterns.
The strategies most often used by consumers included shifting to non -peak usage (52 percent), turning off
devices (44 percent), decreasing lighting (29 percent), and decreasing heating /cooling (20 percent).
11
This initial study period has demonstrated great potential to reduce energy consumption. The proposed
project enhancements, including efforts to (1) make energy consumption data available through a variety
of communication tools (e.g., web, smart phones), (2) utilize outreach tools such as social media, (3)
create attractive incentives, and (4) develop more enriched information and insights, should produce even
greater energy reductions.
Ability to Expand the Project Beyond the Demonstration Phase
Dubuque and its partners seek to customize these Smart Grid tools and demonstrate their ability for
community -, region- and state -wide adoption. To accomplish that goal, the team seeks to build the case
for why Smart Grid- enabled tools make economic sense for utility companies, utility consumers and the
communities in which these interactions occur.
DOE Smart Grid Data Access funding will enable Dubuque and its partners to collect data over a longer
term from a larger sample, using better tools. This project phase will also enable the team to incorporate
additional variables into its modeling. With this information, the City seeks to help:
• Utilities determine if customers will shift energy use to off -peak hours at a high enough level to
justify utility investments in Smart Grid tools;
• Customers understand if the savings generated with Smart Grid tools would justify self - financing
approaches; and
• Localities comprehend whether public investment in Smart Grid tools is merited based upon
their financial, environmental and social benefits.
With this information, Dubuque and its partners would plan to expand the demonstration in Phase II of
the project. In Iowa, electricity needs are served by two investor -owned utilities, 35 rural electric
cooperatives and 136 municipal electric utilities. Dubuque would phase this expansion based upon these
utility types. Expansion efforts would first be concentrated in communities with municipally -owned
utilities, due to their physical and political control of the systems. Next, expansion efforts would
concentrate on rural electric cooperatives, where the value proposition could be easily demonstrated to
their members. Finally, Dubuque would work with the investor -owned utilities, provided that a strong
financial case for wide -scale expansion can be demonstrated. These efforts will be conducted in
coordination with the established associations representing these types of utilities, including the Iowa
Public Power Agency and the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives.
Project Team Capabilities (Criterion 3)
Project Management
Since October of 2009, David Lyons has served as Project Manager for the Smarter Sustainable Dubuque
research program, a unique sustainability research collaboration between IBM, the City of Dubuque and
numerous other public and private partners. David has a significant and lengthy legal and business
background, with previous positions as Iowa Economic Development Director, Iowa Commissioner of
Insurance and Chief Business Development Officer for the Iowa Farm Bureau. In each position, he has
been responsible for overseeing complicated research and development projects involving both public and
private grants and investments.
Project Teams
Five primary project teams have been formed to manage and oversee the Smarter Electricity Iowa project.
The teams include:
City of Dubuque
• David Lyons, Project Manager for Smarter Sustainable Dubuque (Team Lead) — David will
facilitate and manage all required agreements between the project's public and private partners.
He will also oversee project implementation and will anticipate and remove barriers to its
success.
12
• Teri Goodman, Assistant City Manager — Teri will coordinate interaction with key constituencies
for the success of the project and its future replication, including with the Iowa Association of
Municipal Utilities, Iowa Metro Coalition, Iowa League of Cities. Iowa Public Power Agency,
Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives, and local, state and national governmental agencies.
• Cori Burbach, Sustainable Community Coordinator — Cori will coordinate communications and
activities with key local constituencies for this project, including City staff, the Sustainable
Dubuque Collaborative, Green Dubuque, and others. Providing outreach for the project and
gathering input from these key constituencies will be her focus.
• Randy Gehl, Public Information Officer — Randy will review, develop, implement, and analyze
the communication efforts for the project. He will provide services both directly and through
oversight and collaboration with communication staff of the project partners.
• Chris Kohlmann, Information Services Manager — Chris will oversee and advise on the
technology- related aspects of the project, including, but not limited to, data collection and
transmission. FTP receipt and anonymization. IBM data feeds, and access /use issues of the portal
for citizens. She will be supported by the Sustainable Dubuque Help Desk.
• Jenny Larson, Budget Director — Jenny will oversee the financial administration of the grant.
Alliant Energy
• Debbie Branson, Senior Product Manager (Team Lead) — Debbie will manage the Alliant Energy
team. She will also be responsible for serving as a liaison with the City of Dubuque, and
overseeing all communications with Alliant Energy customers.
• Lynda Ermer, Business Analyst — Lynda will provide technical support to the Alliant Energy
team.
• Rick Potter, Principal Smart Grid Technology Consultant — Rick will provide technology and
metering expertise to the Alliant Energy team.
Algona Municipal Utilities
• John Bilsten, General Manager — In collaboration with Project Manager David Lyons. John will
coordinate the implementation of the project for households in Algona. He will also assist in the
review and analysis of replication issues and opportunities for the project.
Cedar Falls Utilities
• Erin Buchanan, Energy Services Coordinator — Erin has an outstanding background in
energy efficiency work. Prior to coming to Cedar Falls Utilities. Erin worked as the
Energy Efficiency Specialist for the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities. She will
manage the Cedar Falls Utilities responsibilities for this project.
• Steven Bernard. Director of Customer Service and Business Development — Steve will assist in
the review and analysis of replication issues and opportunities for the project.
IBM
• Milind Naphade. Manager and Leader. Services for a Smarter Planet (Team Lead) — Milind will
serve as the project's Principal Investigator. He will oversee and manage the IBM research team.
Milind has significant research experience in machine learning.
• Sambit Sahu, Research Staff Member — Sambit will serve as the overall architect for solution
design, deployment and engagement. He has significant research experience in Cloud
computing and statistical data analysis.
• Ming Li, Research Staff Member — Ming is responsible for the design and development
of the portal system. He has extensive Cloud and large scale distributed systems research
experience.
13
• Younghun Kim, Research Staff Member — Younghun will be responsible for analytics
design, data analysis, engagement analysis, and incentive analytics. He has extensive
analytics, statistics, and data mining research experience.
• Tom Erickson, Research Staff Member — Tom is a well -known researcher in social
science and people behavior. He will be responsible for the design of novel forms of
online communication and collaboration, and shall play a key role in the incentive design
and study of people behavior.
Corporate Commitment and Cost Share
The following parties have committed to participate in and /or contribute cost share to the proposed
project (see Appendix 3 and the attached letters of support and commitment):
• IBM;
• Algona Municipal Utilities;
• Cedar Falls Utilities;
• Alliant Energy; and
• Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities.
A total of $500,000 in cash, equipment, and staff resources will match DOE's $500,000 Smart Grid Data
Access investment.
Adequacy of Equipment, Facilities and Other Resources
Dubuque requires no additional equipment to complete the project. Smart meters have been installed, and
communication gateways and secure FTP sites are in place to transmit the energy consumption data.
Algona and Cedar Falls are currently installing smart meters. No grant funds will support those efforts.
However, Algona's and Cedar Falls' smart meter installation costs associated with volunteer households
will contribute to the project's cost share.
In addition, the IBM- designed portal is Cloud -based and already up- and - running. Computers and Internet
access are also not barriers to household participation. Local libraries are available across Iowa to
facilitate those households not connected to the Web.
Specific customization of the portal, including efforts to provide access through smart phones, integration
with social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter, and the development of more enriched information
and customer - specific insights, will take place at IBM's research laboratories.
RELEVANCE AND OUTCOMES /IMPACTS
This Smart Grid Data Access funding opportunity seeks to empower residential consumers to "better
manage their electricity use by enabling access to electricity consumption data," and to "support the use
of "tools and software products that utilize available data to deliver a value added service to the
residential customer."
The Smarter Electricity Iowa project meets these objectives by providing volunteer households in
Dubuque, Algona and Cedar Falls with access to the Smarter Energy Conservation Portal, which monitors
energy consumption every 15 minutes and provides users with an easy -to -use interface that can help
customers save energy, reduce costs and curb carbon emissions. The portal can provide users with a
quick summary of the household consumption, suggest consumer - specific consumption insights, compare
historical household consumption as well as provide comparisons with similar households in the
community, and encourage personalized actions to reduce energy consumption. In addition, users can opt
to receive alerts about anomalous usage patterns.
14
Dubuque's beta research has already demonstrated monthly utilization reductions ranging from 3 to 11
percent. Initial surveys of project participants have also shown wide satisfaction with the online portal.
Sixty -eight percent of participants have indicated that the tools have increased their understanding of
personal electricity use. Forty -five percent of participants have stated that the tools have helped them find
specific ways to reduce energy consumption based upon their individual usage patterns. The proposed
project enhancements, including efforts to (1) make energy consumption data available through a variety
of communication tools (e.g., web, smart phones), (2) utilize outreach tools such as social media, (3)
create attractive incentives, and (4) develop more enriched information and insights, should produce even
greater energy reductions.
ROLE OF PARTICIPANTS
A complete list of participating partners, as well as their roles and responsibilities, is available in the
MERIT REVIEW CRITERION DISCUSSION - Team Capabilities (Criterion 3) on page 12.
MULTIPLE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS
Milind Naphade at IBM will serve as the Principal Investigator for the project.
FACILITIES AND OTHER RESOURCES
A description of the project's facilities and other resource needs is identified in the MERIT REVIEW
CRITERION DISCUSSION - Team Capabilities (Criterion 3) on page 14.
EQUIPMENT
A description of the project's equipment needs is identified in the MERIT REVIEW CRITERION
DISCUSSION - Team Capabilities (Criterion 3) on page 14.
STATEMENT OF PROJECT OBJECTIVES (SOPO)
Title: Smarter Electricity Iowa
A. Objectives
The objectives of the overall Smarter Electricity Iowa project are to:
• Dramatically reduce household energy consumption;
• Shift customer peak demand to periods of lower overall system demand, decreasing the need for
peak load production; and
• Create economic (e.g., new jobs and markets), environmental and social benefits in communities
that adopt Smart Grid- enabled technologies.
The specific objectives of Phase I of the project are to:
• Provide residential customers with useful information through Smart Grid- enabled tools to help
them to better manage their electricity consumption;
• Offer customers a range of technology opportunities (e.g., web, smart phones) to monitor their
energy data;
• Identify outreach messages and communication tools that effectively persuade customers to
become engaged in efforts to reduce electricity consumption;
• Determine the types of incentives and rewards that keep customers engaged;
• Develop enriched information and insights that meets the needs of diverse groups; and
• Demonstrate the feasibility of these Smart Grid- enabled approaches in investor -owned utilities,
and municipally -owned utilities and rural cooperatives.
The specific objectives of Phase II of the project are to:
• Identify a city to roll out the tested Smart Grid - enabled tools community -wide; and
• Work to expand the adoption of smart meters and use of the portal in three distinct subphases:
15
o First, to municipally -owned utilities, due to their physical and political control of the
systems, making it easier for early adoption;
o Next, to rural electric cooperatives, as the value of smart meters and complementary
online tools is proven to the membership; and
o Finally, to investor -owned utilities, providing that the data can demonstrate the financial
basis for smart meter expansion.
B. Scope of Work
Phase I
• Re- engage volunteer households in Dubuque;
• Target volunteer household study areas in Algona and Cedar Falls;
• Deploy remaining smart meters in Algona and Cedar Falls;
• Enroll new volunteer households in Algona and Cedar Falls;
• Establish processes and procedures to transmit data from Algona and Cedar Falls to Dubuque;
• Connect all volunteer households in all three cities to the Smarter Energy Conservation Portal;
• Provide project participants with training on the Smarter Energy Conservation Portal;
• Provide access to energy consumption data through a variety of communication tools (e.g., web,
smart phones);
• Utilize outreach tools preferred by customers, including two -way social media;
• Create and test incentives that keep customers engaged;
• Develop more enriched information and insights; and
• Conduct the data gathering over a full year (all four seasons).
Phase II
• Identify a city for community -wide adoption of Smarter Energy Conservation Portal;
• Conduct outreach to educate community on benefits of reducing energy consumption;
• Enroll participants community -wide;
• Connect households to the Smarter Energy Conservation Portal; and
• Promote engagement incentives and rewards.
C. Tasks to Be Performed
Phase 1 — Demonstration
Task 1.1— Project Management and Planning
Subtask 1.1.1— Establish Core Team
Project management and planning will be coordinated by a Core Team representing the City of
Dubuque, IBM, Alliant Energy, Algona Municipal Utilities, Cedar Falls Utilities, and IAMU. David
Lyons, Dubuque's Smarter Sustainable Dubuque Project Manager, will lead the Core Team.
Subtask 1.1.2 — Establish Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the Partners
MOUs will be entered into between the City of Dubuque and both IBM and Alliant Energy to conduct
this demonstration. These MOUs may include, but are not limited to, Scope and Objective; Term;
Obligations and Responsibilities; Privacy and Security; Ownership and Use of Data; Analysis; and
Reporting. Participation of IAMU, Algona Municipal Utilities and Cedar Falls Utilities will be
facilitated through separate agreements with the City of Dubuque.
Subtask 1.1.3 — Schedule Recurring ProjectManagementMeetings
David Lyons will organize a series of monthly meetings to maintain momentum and keep partners
focused on project implementation.
16
Svbtask 1.1.4 — Update and Svbnnt Protect ManagementPlan
David Lyons will prepare and submit an updated Project Management Plan for DOE within 30 days
of award.
Svbtask 1.1.5 — Ongoing Protect-Management
David Lyons will be responsible for ensuring that project reporting requirements are met and that
deliverables are completed on time.
Task 1.2 — Demonstration Preparations
Svbtask 1.2.1 — Determine Standard Data Collection and Svbnnsszon Processes
Dubuque and IBM will work with Algona and Cedar Falls to share the procedures for collecting and
transmitting data. and develop processes in Algona and Cedar Falls that make sense for those
communities.
Svbtask 1.2.2 — Revzeir Best Practices for Commamzty Outreach, Echtcation and Commamzcatzon
The team will study best practices for conducting effective outreach and education in communities,
including exploring opportunities to use two -way social media tools.
Svbtask 1?. _ — Iclenti f, Recrant and Enroll Volunteer Households
The team will conduct significant and comprehensive outreach and communication efforts.
undertaken previously in Dubuque. to identify. recruit and enroll volunteer households in Algona and
Cedar Falls, including:
• Broad general outreach through newspapers, local radio and community and affinity group
presentations:
• Targeted communication to single family. owner- occupied households who may be interested
in participating and who would represent a representative cross - section of households in the
community: and
• Specific communication to households expressing interest.
Svbtask 1.2.4 — Develop Engagement Incentives and Rewards
The project team will work with local governments, schools and community merchants to develop a
range of awards. rewards and incentives that will be made available to households who successfully
participate in the project.
Svbtask 1.2.5 — Establ zsh Customer Support Sen'zces
Dubuque will work with Algona and Cedar Falls to include their volunteer households within
Dubuque's customer service network.
Task 1.3 — Demonstration Execution
Svbtask 1. 3.1 — Integrate Volunteer Household Data irzth Smarter Energy Conservation Portal
IBM will work with Algona and Cedar Falls to connect their volunteer households with the Smarter
Energy Conservation Portal.
Svbtask 1. .2 — Echicate Volunteer Households on Portal Use
The team will offer online and in- person training sessions for volunteering households on best
practices for interacting with the tools and using the data.
Svbtask 1. 3.3 — Provzde i obmteer Households irzth Customer Support
Dubuque will expand the customer services capacity for participating households. including in-
person. online and telephone services. A "one- stop" information and trouble - shooting service is the
goal for participating households.
17
Svbtask 1. 3.4 — Dnvide i ohinteer Households into Subgroups
The team will divide its sample of more than 1.000 volunteer households into five separate
subgroups. Each of these groups will be provided different incentive and insights. which will provide
the ability to evaluate the efficacy of each approach. Specifically, the volunteer base would be
divided into 5 equal -sized groups:
• Group 1: No access to portal:
• Group 2: Access to portal but only high level metrics:
• Group 3: Access to portal with metrics and general insights:
• Group 4: Access to portal with metrics, and personalized insights: and
• Group 5: Access to portal with metrics, personalized insights and activity tracking.
Svbtask 1.3.5 — Promote Engagement Incentives and Rewards
The team will conduct broad outreach on potential new incentive and award /reward programs.
Svbtask 1.3.6— Test Alternative Communication Strategies
This next phase of project will test new communication approaches, including:
• Broad general outreach on the aggregate results of the earlier pilot. including their potential
positive impact on the community and environment: and
• Specific communication to households involved in the previous pilot using their individual
data to show specific positive results. and recruiting them for "beta testing" of new system
enhancements.
Task 1.4 — Analysis and Results Reportin.
Svbtask 1.4.1 — Concbict Survey with i ohinteer Households
At the end of the demonstration project, the team will conduct a survey with all volunteer households
to gather feedback on their increased understanding of their electricity consumption, their satisfaction
with the portal. their assessment of the types of communication and outreach conducted, and the types
of behavior modifications that they adopted.
Svbtask1.4? — Analyse Energy Consumption Data
A comprehensive analysis of the data will be conducted to:
• Assess user behaviors:
• Determine energy savings across different subgroups:
• Evaluate the effectiveness of incentives and insights: and
• Study energy and cost savings across all four seasons.
This analysis will lead to the development of a value proposition that will help utilities. utility
customers and communities understand why they should invest in Smart Grid - enabled tools.
Svbtask1.4.? — Assess Communication and Outreach Strategy
Based upon the user feedback and the analysis of the data. the team will assess which types
communication and outreach strategies were effective in encouraging users to reduce energy
consumption.
Svbtask 1.4.4 — Prepare and Submit Demonstration Report, Adoption Plan and Phase II Budget
A Demonstration Report. Adoption Report and Phase II Budget will be prepared and submitted to
DOE no less than 90 days prior to the end of the award.
Svbtask 1.4.5 — Prepare and Present Down- Select Briefing
The will prepare and present a detailed Down- Select Briefmg to DOE on the results of the
demonstration no less than 90 days prior to the end of the award.
18
Phase II — Adoption
Task 2.1 — Project Management and Planning
Svbtask 2.1.1 — Revise and Submit Protect Management Plan
David Lyons will prepare and submit an updated Project Management Plan for DOE within 30 days
of award.
Svbtask 2.1? — Ongoing Protect Management
David Lyons will be responsible for ensuring that project expectations are met and that deliverables
are completed on time.
Task 2.2 — Adoption Preparations
Svbtask 2?.1 —Went& City for Community- iVideAdoption
The team will identify one of the cities served by a municipally -owned utility to expand the use of
Smart Grid - enabled tools community -wide in the second phase.
Svbtask 2.2.2 — Conabict Community Outreach
Broad outreach will be conducted across the identified community_ to educate residents about the
energy and fmancial savings possible with the portal.
Task 2.3 — Adoption Execution
Svbtask 2. 3.1 — Integrate Household Data with Smarter Energy Conservation Portal
IBM would work with the identified community_ to connect their volunteer households with the
Smarter Energy Conservation Portal.
Svbtask 2. 3.2 — Echicate Households on Smarter Energy Conservation Portal Use
The team would offer online and in- person training sessions for volunteering households on best
practices for interacting with the tools and using the data.
Svbtask 2. 3.3 — Provide Households with Customer Support
Customer service would be provided to participating households, including in- person, online and
telephone services.
Svbtask 2. 3.4 — Promote Engagement Incentives and Rewards
The team will conduct broad outreach on the incentive and award /reward programs that tested well in
the first phase.
Task 2.4 — Analysis and Results Reporting
Svbtask 2.4.1 — Conabict Community -Wide Survey
The team would conduct a final survey with participating households to gather feedback on their
increased understanding of their electricity consumption, their satisfaction with the portal, their
assessment of the types of communication and outreach conducted, and the types of behavior
modifications that they adopted.
Svbtask 2.4? — Analyse Energy Consumption Data
A comprehensive analysis of the data will be conducted to:
• Assess user behaviors:
• Determine energy savings: and
• Evaluate the effectiveness of incentives and insights.
Svbtask 2.4.3 — Assess Communication and Outreach Strategy
The team would also conduct a final assessment on which types communication and outreach
strategies were effective at reducing energy consumption.
19
Subtask 2.4.4 — Prepare and Submit Final Technical Report
A Final Technical Report will be prepared and submitted no less than 90 days prior to the end of the
award.
D. Deliverables
Dubuque will deliver periodic and final reports in accordance with the Federal Assistance Reporting
Checklist, including progress and financial reports. Dubuque will also submit an updated Project
Management Plan within 30 days of award, as well as a Demonstration Report, Phase II Adoption Plan
and Phase II Budget no less than 90 days prior to the end of Phase I.
E. Briefings
Dubuque will explain the project's plans, progress and results through detailed briefings to its DOE
Project Officer at the following milestones:
• No more than 15 days after submission of the updated Project Management Plan, Dubuque will
conduct a Phase I Kickoff Briefing;
• No less than 90 days prior to the end of Phase I, Dubuque will present a Down Select Briefing to
DOE on the results of the demonstration and its plans for further adoption in Phase II;
• If selected to advance to Phase II, Dubuque will prepare a Phase II Kickoff Briefing no more than
15 days after submission of the updated Phase II Project Management Plan; and
• Dubuque will conduct a Final Project Briefmg on the results and accomplishments of the entire
project no less than 30 days prior to the end of Phase II.
PARTIES CONTRIBUTING TO COST SHARING
Besides Dubuque, the following third parties have committed to participate in and/or contribute cost share
to the proposed project (see Appendix 3 and the attached letters of support and commitment):
• IBM;
• Algona Municipal Utilities;
• Cedar Falls Utilities;
• Alliant Energy; and
• Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities.
A total of 500,000 in cash, equipment, and staff will match DOE's $500,000 Smart Grid Data Access
investment.
20
Appendix 1.
Community Survey
Attachment 3
Survey for new volunteers desiring to participate in the Dubuque Smarter Energy Project
What is the number of adults (age 18 or over) currently living in your household?
adults
How many children living in your household are ...
Less than 6 years old ?
6 t 11 ?
12 to 17
On a scale of 1 -4, where 1 is very concerned and 4 is not at all concerned, how concerned
are you about the future of the earth's environment?
On a scale of 1 -4, where 1 is very important and 4 is not at all important, how important
is it to you for Dubuque to be leader in sustainability?
On a scale of 1 -4, where 1 is very important and 4 is not at all important, how important
is it to you to decrease your household's electricity bills?
On a scale of 1 -4, where 1 is very important and 4 is not at all important, how important
is it to you to better understand your household's electricity consumption?
On a scale of 1 -4, where 1 is very important and 4 is not at all important, how important
is it to you to decrease your household's electricity consumption?
On a scale of 1 -4, where 1 is very important and 4 is not at all important, how important
is it to you to understand how your household's electricity consumption contributes to
your overall carbon footprint?
If you had to guess, how many kilowatt hours (kWh) would you say that your household
uses a day during this time of the year?
0 -15 kWh
15 -30 kWh
30 -45 kWh
45 -60 kWh
60 or more kWh
Does your household have access to the Internet?
Yes
No
Given a choice, where would you like to receive updates on your household's electricity
use? (Select all that are applicable.)
Internet
Email
Cell phone text messages
Weekly mailings
Personal phone calls
iPhone
Blackberry
Android smartphone
How many minutes a day do you think you might realistically devote to better
understanding your household's electricity consumption during the pilot?
0 minutes
Less than a minute
1 or 2 minutes
2 to 5 minutes
5 to 10 minutes
In order to maximize the success of this pilot, we will be asking a limited number of
households to participate in additional activities, such as
• Install additional energy monitoring devices and share data with IBM
• informal get - togethers with researchers and other pilot participants
• press briefings to describe household experiences during the pilot.
Would you like to be invited to participate in additional activities as they occur?
Yes
No
If yes, what is the best way to invite you?
Telephone
Email
Appendix 2.
Authorization Form
Authorization for Release of Information To Third Parties
Interstate Power and Light Company (an Alliant Energy company) has agreed to work with the City of
Dubuque on its Smarter Sustainable Dubuque AMI Pilot Project, subject to the consent of individual
customers. The City is requesting energy usage and related data for display in a restricted and secure web
portal hosted by a third party, VerityThree, Inc. of McHenry, IL for each customer of Alliant Energy who
agrees to participate in the City's project. Each customer will receive a unique identification number to allow
access to only his or her portal. In addition, the City is using the services of IBM to develop the web portal.
IBM will have use of the energy usage and related data in anonymized or aggregated form for such product
development, for demonstrations of the developed product to third parties, to produce reports to be published
by the City or IBM in various forms including public presentations, and for research purposes. The data will
remain owned by you, the customer, but these three entities will have the rights to use your data as described
above.
To authorize the City of Dubuque and its two contractors ( VerityThree, Inc. and IBM) to receive your
energy usage and related data as described above regarding the following utility account(s), please complete
the form below, sign it, and return it to Alliant Energy, Attention: Smarter Sustainable Dubuque Project, P.O.
Box 351, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52406 -9874. Please be aware that the original signature of the:eustomer is
required for full participation in the city's program.
Customer Name
Address
City State __. Zip
Phone Number
Account Number
Address of Account, if different from above:
Address
City State Zip
Alliant :Energy through Interstate Power and Light Company has any permission to share my account
information r ±lithtteerson named below.
Customer Signature
Date
6/24/2010
Appendix 3.
Third Parties Contributing to Cost Sharing
Besides Dubuque, the following third parties have committed to participate in and contribute cost share to
the proposed project (see Appendix 3 and the attached letters of support and commitment):
• IBM
• Algona Municipal Utilities
• Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities
Name of Organization
Proposed Dollar
Amount to Be
Provided
Amount as Percentage
of the Total Project
Cost
Proposed Cost Sharing
IBM
$190,000
;8 °o
Services
IAAIU
$25,000
5 °o
Services
Algona Municipal
Utilities
$204.000
40.8 °o
Services
In addition, the City of Dubuque is providing $81.000 in cost share in the form of services, or 16.2°0 of
the cost share requirement.
A total of 500.000 will match DOE's $500,000 Smart Grid Data Access investment.
Phase I
Personnel (Direct Labor) = $51, 600
This includes:
• Project support and communication oversight from Community Sustainability Coordinator =
($25.800. 35 °o of actual salary). This position will spend 35 °o of their time on the project.
• Customer support and service costs for Dubuque to service the additional communities
($25.800, actual salary). This position will provide full -time service to the project.
Fringe Rate = $8,400
Fringe benefits for City employees are calculated at 20 0o of salary and include payroll taxes.
insurance. IPERS, vacation and sick leave.
Travel
N/A
Equipment
N/A
Supplies = $45,000
This includes the outreach campaign, engagement materials, mailings, postcards, postage, advertising,
meeting space, meals. "community cafes." surveys, etc., and is based upon estimates from Dubuque
Smarter Rater project.
Consultants = $340,000
This includes $310,000 for IBM Smarter Energy Conservation Portal services. This is a flat fee for
use the Smarter Energy Conservation Portal system. The charge gets Dubuque and other
communities a running service for the duration of the pilot including onboarding of new meters from
the various communities, generation of password protected access privileges for the recruited
volunteers, a running web based portal that allows recruited volunteers access to information, insights
and activity management for their electricity consumption as well as opportunity to collaborate with
the community to improve conservation and move peak loads to off peak. This service will empower
the volunteers with accurate hourly visualization of consumption, analysis of breakdown of
consumption into major consumption categories, conversion of consumption from kR'H to $ to
carbon footprint, high level metrics including trends, incentive metrics including green points,
personalized insights and decision support on ways and means to reduce the consumption. The
service will run out of an IBM Cloud thus making it simple for communities and volunteers to use
without having to worry about hardware, middleware and software infrastructure as well as
maintenance.
This also includes $ 0 000 in technology costs for providing intermediary data services to other
communities linking into the IBM system.
Other Direct Costs = $55,000
This includes
• $25.000 for engagement incentives and rewards: and
• $30.000 for the development and testing of alternative communication strategies for customer
data and interaction, including mobile devices, instant messaging, social media and on -line
communities.
Indirect Costs
N/A
Cost Sharing = $500,000
A total of $500.000 in cash, equipment, and staff resources will match DOE's $500.000 Smart Grid Data
Access investment from the following parties:
• IBM
• Alliant Energy
• Algona Municipal Utilities
• Cedar Falls Utilities
• Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities
Phase II
Personnel (Direct Labor) = $250, 000
This includes:
• Project support and communication oversight from Community Sustainability Coordinator
• Customer support and service costs for Dubuque to service the additional communities
Fringe Rate = $50,000
Fringe benefits for City employees are calculated at 200o of salary
Travel
N/A
Equipment
N/A
Supplies = $250,000
For outreach campaign, engagement materials, mailings, postcards, postage, advertising, meeting
space, meals. 'community cafes." surveys, etc.
Consultants = $1,350, 000
For IBM Smarter Energy Conservation Portal services.
Other Direct Costs = $100, 000
For engagement incentives and rewards.
Indirect Costs
N/A
Cost Sharing = $2,000,000