1. (a) General requirements.

   1. (1) Administrators shall propose:

      1. (A) General program designs;
      2. (B) Specific programs; and
      3. (C) Specific measures.
   2. (2) Administrators may propose programs and/or measures in any combination.

   3. (3) All programs should include the following general elements:

      1. (A) A showing of high probability of providing aggregate ratepayer benefits to the majority of ratepayers;
      2. (B) The identification of the specific objectives of the program; and
      3. (C) The identification of the specific EM&V procedures that will be used to determine whether the program has achieved its stated objectives.

2. (b) Portfolio description and support. Each plan filing shall address the following:

   1. (1) Demonstration that the scope of programs serves all customer classes;
   2. (2) Plan benefit/cost analysis listing total costs and benefits, including expected savings goals for the portfolio of programs;
   3. (3) Cost recovery proposal; and
   4. (4) Any additional supporting information the administrator may propose.

3. (c) Program description and support. Each program filing shall address the following:

   1. (1) Services to be provided;
   2. (2) Target population;
   3. (3) All barriers being addressed and how they are being addressed;
   4. (4) Proposed customer incentives, if any;
   5. (5) An evaluation, measurement, and verification plan using an industry-accepted protocol approved by the Arkansas Public Service Commission;
   6. (6) Timeframe if the program term is limited;
   7. (7) A plan for addressing oversubscription to the program;
   8. (8) An analysis demonstrating that the program or measure is beneficial, including the prescribed cost/benefit analyses;
   9. (9) Estimated energy and peak demand savings and the basis for these savings estimates, which may include deemed savings as approved by the Arkansas Public Service Commission; and
   10. (10) Any additional analyses the administrator may propose.

4. (d) Uniformity of programs.

   1. (1) Programs addressing both electric and gas customers shall be coordinated to the extent reasonable.
   2. (2) Fuel-switching and load-building programs not otherwise authorized under the Arkansas Public Service Commission’s Promotional Practices of Electric and Gas Utilities, 23 PSC pt. 460, shall not be included as energy efficiency programs.

5. (e) Customer incentives.

   1. (1) Programs may include incentives to encourage customers to make energy-efficient investments if the incentives are cost-justified and are a component of a program that has a high probability of providing aggregate ratepayer benefits to the majority of utility customers.

   2. (2)

      1. (A) Incentives may include:

6. (i) Information;

   1. (ii) Technical assistance;

      1. (iii) Leasing programs;

         1. (iv) Product giveaways; and
         2. (v) Direct financial inducements.

      2. (B) Financial inducements may include but are not limited to:

         1. (i) Rebates;
         2. (ii) Discounted products and services; and
         3. (iii) Low-rate financing.

   2. (3)

      1. (A) All customer incentives shall be considered in the benefit/cost testing of programs.
      2. (B) Costs of customer incentives shall be considered a direct program cost.

   3. (4) Incentives:

      1. (A) Should not be any higher than necessary to overcome the customers’ barriers to invest in the measure; and
      2. (B) Should be reduced or eliminated as the measure becomes more of a standard practice.

7. (f) Statewide programs.

   1. (1) The Arkansas Public Service Commission, after notice and hearing, may direct utilities to offer uniform statewide energy efficiency and conservation programs if it determines such standardization to be the most cost-effective result and in the public interest.
   2. (2) Utilities may request approval to offer statewide or region-wide programs for which public messages, commercial terms and conditions, and customer reception are best served by such an approach.

8. (g) Pilot and Quick Start programs.

   1. (1)

      1. (A) The Arkansas Public Service Commission may approve pilot energy efficiency programs.

      2. (B) A pilot program design is distinct from Quick Start and other program designs in that it shall:

         1. (i) Include:
9. (a) (a) Explicit questions that the pilot will address;

10. (b) (b) Explicit EM&V designed to address pilot questions;

    1. (c) (c) Estimates of program costs and savings; and

       1. (d) (d) A provisional benefit/cost evaluation; and

          1. (ii) Be of limited duration until reassessment after a predetermined period.

       2. (C) Pilot programs shall have characteristics from among the following:

          1. (i) Addressing a new end use; and
          2. (ii) Applying a new technology or a new delivery method.

    2. (2)

       1. (A) Quick Start programs are programs that are limited in nature and that in other jurisdictions have been shown to have a high probability of providing aggregate ratepayer benefits to the majority of utility customers.
       2. (B) Although estimates of program costs must be included in proposals to implement all initial plan Quick Start programs, Quick Start programs are exempt from the requirement to provide cost-effectiveness showings under the benefit-cost tests of 23 CAR § 461-106.
       3. (C) Estimated energy and demand savings and an explicit EM&V program must be included for all Quick Start programs except the statewide education program.
    3. (3) Programs that are neither pilots nor Quick Start programs must comply with all of the plan filing requirements of this section.
    4. (4) All costs for pilot, Quick Start, and other programs shall be considered eligible for cost recovery.

11. (h) Program filing procedures and schedule.

    1. (1) A program filed under this part shall not be implemented until an Arkansas Public Service Commission order is issued expressly approving the program.
    2. (2) The period from the filing date to the date of the Arkansas Public Service Commission order shall be no more than one hundred eighty (180) days, which will permit investigation, analysis, and adjudication of the program.
    3. (3) The Arkansas Public Service Commission shall establish a procedural schedule for the review of each program filing.

Codification Notes: This section was promulgated as Section 5 of the Rules for Conservation and Energy Efficiency Programs prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules.