The communities of Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland in Colorado collectively reduced customer carbon emissions by about 8,200 tons in 2024 by participating in energy efficiency programs offered through Efficiency Works, which is managed by Platte River Power Authority.
“Efficiency Works is the customer-facing program of the local utilities and the team has been incredibly successful over the past decade at engaging customers in energy efficiency programs, activities and services,” says Jason Frisbie, general manager and CEO of Platte River. “Their expansion of these services to include electric vehicles and electrification will help customers participate in the region’s energy transition.”
"While various residential, business and consumer programs contributed to Efficiency Works’ success in 2024, the following two programs exemplify how the collaboration is evolving to help engage all customers in a noncarbon energy future while supporting the local communities," Platte River Power Authority said.
Efficiency Works Homes enhanced its partnership with the Colorado Affordable Residential Energy program, managed by Energy Outreach Colorado, in 2023 to provide a broader range of support for income-qualified customers. In 2024, Efficiency Works made a significant change to the program to leverage partner skills, expanding service to hundreds of customers.
“Utilities are the second highest household expense for many customers,” says Bryce Brady, manager of distributed energy solutions for Platte River. “The CARE partnership helped drop participating customer electric bills by an average of 50%.”
In 2024, the Building Tune-Up program offered by Efficiency Works Business expanded its commercial buildings services to 72 buildings. This is up from an average of five participating buildings per year compared to previous program years.
The program offers two services: Performance Plus, which focuses on HVAC system optimization, and retrocommissioning, which evaluates business automation systems to identify issues that may reduce energy efficiency over time.
“The relationships we’re creating through Building Tune-Up program lays the groundwork for businesses to participate in the region’s energy transition,” adds Brady. “In the future, the virtual power plant could signal a building’s automation system to adjust energy consumption in response to grid needs, helping Platte River manage its system.”
Hospitals in three communities, a large church and all eligible Poudre School District buildings adopted the retrocommissioning services in 2024.
Efficiency Works also launched a new online platform in 2024 for customers in Platte River’s owner communities to learn about thousands of energy efficiency products and make informed decisions. The platform provides expanded educational resources to help customers learn how to use their energy more effectively. Program staff will continue to expand these services with an enhanced website expected to launch later this year.
Efficiency Works is a regional utility collaboration that provides guidance and resources to enable customers to use energy effectively, work toward a noncarbon energy future and build strong, resilient communities for customers served by Platte River Power Authority and its owner communities of Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland, Colorado.
