Energy Division Staff site visits included varied geographic regions, varied demographic areas as well as different types of housing, such as single family, multi-family, and farm housing.

In order to investigate compliance of LIEE installation measures and the application of the NGAT study in the Phase IV Standardization Project, the Energy Division staff commenced ride-alongs with the IOUs inspectors and third party weatherization measure installers. The site visits were conducted throughout the state in different regions taking into account as much as possible the diversity in climate, population and housing. A total of twenty-one site visits were conducted. For each of the utilities serving gas and electric, three sites visit for NGAT and three regular LIEE weatherization installation visits were conducted. For the all-electric utility SCE, only three visits for regular LIEE installation of measures were conducted.

For the statewide NGAT study, Regional Economic Research (RER) is the prime contractor and Richard Heath and Associates (RHA) is the subcontractor responsible for conducting the pre- and post weatherization NGAT tests. Each utility is responsible for the installation of measures, and subcontractors performed the actual work. For regular LIEE weatherization work, each utility subcontracts the installation of measures to third party contractors.

Each utility is unique in its approach in the administration and inspection of LIEE programs. Some IOU's such as SDG&E and So Cal Gas have subcontracted out the administration while others including PG&E and SCE have subcontracted out the inspection portion of the program. Some of the IOUs perform a hundred percent of the post-installation inspections such as SDG&E, while others such as PG&E performs post-installation inspections on only twenty percent of the participating homes. There is no standardized method for inspections consistent for all IOUs and each utility has its own unique method of operation rooted in its own experiences and history. However, standardization of these methodologies will be revisited during Phase 1V of the LIEE standardization project. Specifically, the NGAT study, which is in its final stages and is designed to assist the Commission to establish a standardized method.

The purpose of these site visits was not so much as to change the method of operation of these utilities in the application of their respective LIEE programs, but to see if there were some areas where improvements could be made to make the LIEE program more effective.

Among a variety of sites visited, there were single-family homes, multi-family homes, and agricultural migrant farm workers homes. Owners occupied some homes, while others were renters. Most of the single-family homeowners were older people on fixed income and qualified under the LIEE program. There were some homes where the English language was not the primary language of the household. Due to the diverse nature of our citizens in the state, different sets of problems were identified for each segment. In one instance the homeowner spoke Spanish only and was afraid to use the heating system thermostat due to his unfamiliarity with the technology. An outreach and education in Spanish language could have helped this household develop confidence in technology and its use.

Overall, the LIEE program appeared to be fairly effective and in general the contractors installing the weatherization measures were following the installation standards and policy and procedures established. However, in some cases the quality of the installed measures was not consistent and needs to be improved. This report has identified some of the problems and has made some preliminary recommendations to enhance the effectiveness and quality of the program. The customer education aspect of the LIEE program was not addressed in this report since it is covered in the pre-installation section of the measures. The Energy Division primarily focused its attention on the post-installation inspections of measures. Following is a brief description of each of the site visits.