47. Efficiency Challenge – Making Business Sense with Technology Innovation

Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) affiliate – Primen – is conducting a telephone survey of member utilities and other organisations in order to get some insight, provide guidance, and establish support for a renewed, collaborative effort in customer end-use, energy efficiency research and development, with an added focus on technology deployment and near-term project deliverables. Based on the survey, a new EPRI programme, tentatively titled “Efficiency Challenge”, could be rolled out soon. While energy intensity has decreased by a factor of two and GDP has increased by a factor of more than six in the past 50 years, history shows that it takes a string of technology innovations to sustain significant economic improvements. Such economic benefits are critical to the electricity industry and to a prosperous economy.