An Era of Energy Efficiency in the Commercial Sector: Investigation and Findings (Abstract Only)

The paper describes the specification and estimation of an energy demand model that focuses on electricity use in the U.S. commercial sector from 1989 to 2000. The panel model is designed to separate state effects and market-driven effects from energy efficiency program effects, thereby obtaining long-run estimates of the impact of commercial sector energy efficiency programs, including DSM and market transformation programs, on national energy use. The preliminary finding of this study is that publicly-funded energy efficiency programs have had a discernable impact on annual electricity demand. (Abstract only)