3. Status of Rapid Deployment

In the following sections, we briefly summarize the status of rapid deployment efforts for low-income assistance programs, by utility.¹¹ More detailed information is available in Attachments 3 to 6 of this decision. The results described below represent accomplishments since the inception of rapid deployment (initiated in May, 2001 with the issuance of D.01-05-033) through the end of 2001, unless otherwise indicated.

The CARE penetration rates we present in the following sections represent the number of low-income customers that actually participate in the CARE program, divided by an estimate of the number of customers that are eligible for the program. After a customer has been on the program for two years, they are required to re-certify their eligibility by responding to a written inquiry from the utility.¹² No income eligibility documentation is required in the re-certification process. However, if the customer does not respond, they are removed from the CARE rate. The CARE penetration rates reflect the increases in enrollments during the year, as well as the decreases in enrollments due to customers moving out of the service territory or failure to re-certify during that period. Attachment 2 references the sources of this information from the utility's monthly status reports.

We also summarize the status of each utility's capitation agreements. Under these agreements, the utility pays an organization or agency a fee to reimburse them for enrolling eligible CARE participants. This administrative fee (referred to as a "capitation fee") is generally paid on a fixed basis for each successful CARE enrollment.

Our reference below to the number of "treated" homes refers to an income-qualified home that has received any measure or service under the LIEE program, including energy education, compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), weatherization and appliances. "Weatherized" homes are a subset of "treated" homes, and are defined as income-qualified homes that have received any weatherization measures (e.g., weatherstripping and caulking) under the LIEE program. Under the LIEE program a treated home must receive all feasible measures for which it qualifies.

Table 1 summarizes the status of LIEE and CARE expenditures and accomplishments during 2001, by utility.

3.1 PG&E

From May thru December 2001, PG&E enrolled approximately 128,000 "net" new customers in the CARE program, that is, new enrollments minus the reductions in existing enrollments due to re-certification efforts during those months. PG&E increased its CARE penetration rate from 41% to 53% during that period. (See Attachment 3.) The increase in enrollment was distributed evenly between urban and rural counties, where program penetration increased by 58% and 56%, respectively.¹³ PG&E attributes this large increase in enrollment to the successful incorporation of strategies identified during the CARE Outreach Pilot, including targeted language-specific advertising, presence at local community events supported by public media partnerships, and the capitation agreements with community-based organizations. As of the end of 2001, PG&E had entered into capitation agreements with approximately 80 different organizations throughout its service territory, split fairly evenly between rural and urban counties.

PG&E characterizes 2001 as a transition year for LIEE, in which it was ramping up a new contract for its Energy Partners Program and incorporating the new rapid deployment LIEE measures. It started the year with ten contractors providing weatherization services throughout PG&E's service territory, and after the new bid, the contractor pool increased to 20 during the summer months, with additional contractors added in September. During 2001, PG&E treated approximately 44,000 homes-of which about 30,000 were weatherized, including 3,045 treated with attic insulation. Specific measure installations include: 7,000 efficient refrigerators, 4,000 evaporative coolers, 162,000 CFLs. As of December 31, 2001, PG&E projects that these initiatives have saved 2,955 kilowatts (kW), over 16 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) and 748,873 therms.¹⁴

3.2 SDG&E

From May through December 2001, SDG&E added approximately 11,360 CARE program enrollees on a net basis, increasing its CARE penetration rate from 58% to 63% during that period. (See Attachment 6.) At the end of the year, SDG&E's penetration rate for rural and urban areas was 40% and 64%, respectively.¹⁵ SDG&E primarily works with agencies that have one-to-one contacts with low-income customers, and offers CARE information in conjunction with events targeted to low-income markets, such as those sponsored through churches, community affairs or local agencies. SDG&E currently contracts with eight community-based organizations to enroll customers on a capitation fee basis, and expects to contract with three more during 2002.

For its LIEE program, SDG&E reports that it treated 19,679 homes during 2001, of which 10,817 received weatherization measures. Specific measure installations include: 2,833 efficient refrigerators, 2,062 CFLs, 379 efficient air conditioners and 423 water heaters. During the second half of 2001, SDG&E entered into memorandums of understanding with six San Diego-based organizations to leverage low income assistance programs offered through DCSD. These organizations will continue their participation during 2002 to increase these leveraging efforts, including bulk purchasing arrangements, exchange of customer information, referral systems and outreach activities. As of December 31, 2001, SDG&E estimates that its LIEE program has produced savings of 1,655 kW, approximately 5.9 million kWh and 233,041 therms.¹⁶

3.3 SCE

SCE enrolled approximately 124,240 new CARE participants on a net basis between May and December 2001. During that period, SCE increased its CARE penetration rate from 73% to 88%. (See Attachment 4.) SCE reports CARE penetration rates of 71% and 90% for rural and urban areas, respectively.¹⁷ SCE attributes its success in building CARE enrollment to a multi-channel outreach effort that includes the capitation program, targeted and ethnic media advertising, direct mailers as well as outreach activities through faith-based organizations, county agencies, and other organizations. During 2001, SCE put in place agreements with 65 organizations to increase CARE enrollment through capitation fee arrangements.

During 2001, SCE weatherized 1,246 homes and installed the following measures: 685 central air conditioner systems, 240 window air conditioning units, 9,285 efficient refrigerators and approximately 250,000 CFLs, with an additional 65,832 CFLs installed in porch light fixtures.¹⁸ In addition, SCE installed 3,900 evaporative cooler units. SCE leverages with the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) offered by DCSD by purchasing refrigerators on behalf of both programs, contracting with LIHEAP service providers to deliver measures under both programs, and other methods. As of December 31, 2001, SCE estimates that its rapid deployment efforts have saved approximately 5,890 kW and over 26 million kWh.¹⁹

3.4 SoCal

SoCal reports that it added over 106, 000 new customers to its CARE program on a net basis from May through December 2001. These additions increased SoCal's CARE penetration rates from 56% to 60%. (See Attachment 5.) Program penetration is estimated at 61% for urban and 51% for rural areas within SoCal's service territory.²⁰

SoCal projects an aggressive increase in CARE participation during 2002, as a result of using the additional funds available for marketing and outreach under SBX1 5. It plans to continue community-based outreach, including the continued use of capitation contractors. SoCal reports that one of its capitation contractor enrolled over 17,000 CARE customers in 2001. SoCal currently has 43 CARE contractors participating in the program and is negotiating contracts with more than 20 other organizations for CARE outreach activities.

SoCal weatherized over 33,000 homes during 2001. Most of SoCal's weatherization contractors are also LIHEAP contractors, and SoCal reports that this has enabled them to significantly leverage funding under both programs. SoCal provided 884 energy-education workshops throughout the service territory and installed 3,200 furnaces and 1,549 efficient water heaters during 2001. As of December 31, 2001, SoCal estimates that its program has saved a total of 746,352 therms and 396,552 kWh.²¹