Energy-efficiency Portfolio Design for the Brazilian Electricity Distributor CELESC

The AFD was seeking support and recommendations for developing an innovative energy-efficiency program portfolio for Centrais Elétricas de Santa Catarina (CELESC) 2019-2023 Energy Efficiency Plan (EEP). The new portfolio is expected to allow CELESC to expand energy-efficiency and demand-reduction activities and transfer innovative technologies and strategies from leading European and North American energy-efficiency providers, while aligning with the national regulation and policy objectives and local market factors. The EEP needed to further expand CELESC’s energy-efficiency efforts while conforming to the guidelines established by the ANEEL (the Brazilian electricity regulatory agency) and considering European and North American best practices, past CELESC projects and projected budget.   To fulfill an annual obligation imposed by the federal regulators, CELESC has to invest in energy efficiency, demand reduction, and renewable energy, but also faces significant constraints regarding program funding structures and eligibility. AFD sought international energy program design expertise to enhance the effectiveness of CELESC’s energy-efficiency investments. Econoler was hired by AFD to carry out the following major activities:

• Performing a jurisdictional scan of energy and demand-saving programs in France and other countries;
• Designing a portfolio of energy-efficiency program concepts;
• Providing recommendations for partnerships, education and capacity-building. 

In order to design the new 2019-2023 energy-efficiency program portfolio for CELESC and provide a basis for making the recommendations, Econoler met with CELESC’s representatives to understand their priorities for the 2019-2023 energy-efficiency portfolio, including regulatory requirements, past programs, and the local market context. As an energy-efficiency leader among Brazil’s utilities, CELESC has operated many standard energy-efficiency programs since 2001, and it was looking for innovative approaches and technologies that could be applied successfully in Santa Catarina.      Econoler conducted a jurisdictional scan of five leading energy-efficiency program administrators with jurisdictional characteristics similar to Santa Catarina in Canada, France, Switzerland and the US. Econoler’s experts obtained ideas and insights about early-stage program concepts from the scan and worked with CELESC’s staff to narrow these down to a smaller set of programs that were closely aligned with CELESC’s priorities and regulatory obligations.   The portfolio of new program concepts that Econoler developed covered energy information and behaviour change for the low-income residential sector, the industrial sector’s strategic energy management, solar power generation with battery storage, and local cooperation and capacity-building. Econoler’s experts performed program benchmarking, and provided design and delivery recommendations, as well as analyses of energy savings, demand reductions, and program costs. Econoler also defined the annual budget as well as a detailed timeline by 2023 for CELESC to carry out those programs. The portfolio provided a road map for the next generation of energy-saving and demand-management strategies for CELESC.   Econoler provided a framework for a technical cooperation program for AFD to support CELESC in developing and implementing its 2019-2023 efficiency program portfolio, including the structure, team composition, budget and timeline.