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California’s Rate Design Revolution
By: Jordan FolksCalifornia is known for many things: Hollywood movie sets, delicious tacos, surf and sand, sweeping mountain ranges, and,...
E Source Acquires Opinion Dynamics
E Source Acquires Opinion Dynamics to Bolster Utility Program Evaluation and Advisory Service CapabilitiesThe acquisition strengthens E Source’s...
Managing a Motherload: The Rise of Commercial and Fleet Load Management
By: Hilary Polis and Hannah MerriamMost utility EV load management programs and technology solutions currently focus on single-family residential...
Making Room for Resilience: Reflections from the Grid Edge
By Kessie AvseikovaResilience has become an increasingly prominent theme in utility and regulatory discussions, spurred by the rising frequency and...
Demand Response Decoded: Understanding the Customer Journey
By Ellen Steiner and Kessie AvseikovaWhen we discuss the future of demand response (DR), the conversation often jumps straight to kilowatts,...
Enhancing Grid Flexibility Through Advanced EV Charging Strategies
Governor Kathy Hochul announced this week that $3 million has been awarded to three projects to advance technologies that can help integrate...
Mind the Mix: How Flexible Load Solutions Interact—and Why It Matters More Than Ever
As electrification and decarbonization efforts accelerate, utilities and policymakers are deploying an ever-growing toolkit of flexible load...
Optimizing Smart Thermostat Demand Response Load Impacts
Smart thermostat direct load control programs are popular nationwide, with program participation frequently reaching tens of thousands of...
Empowering Utility Customers: Lessons from the Flex Alert Campaign
By Danielle FulmerAs extreme weather events and widespread electrification put unprecedented pressure on our power grids, utilities are seeking...
Webinar SCE Charge Ready
Opinion Dynamics is the evaluator for Southern California Edison’s (SCE) Charge Ready Light Duty program (CRLD). This program supports California’s...
Who Makes it to the Finish Line?
Transcript Sarah Naiman, Ph. D (00:10):Hello everyone and welcome to today's installment of our Threads of Equity podcast. My name is Sarah Naiman...
Opinion Dynamics to Support Vermont in Developing a Groundbreaking Clean Heat Standard
WALTHAM, MA, April 16, 2024 – Opinion Dynamics is pleased to announce we have been selected by the Vermont Public Utility Commission to support the...
Recent Articles
Electrification & Decarbonization
You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat: Market Transformation in the Age of Climate Change
By Erin Kempster Today, I want to talk to you about insurance. And healthcare. And policy. Oh, and energy, too. Because the impacts of the ways we live, work, eat, and get around don’t respect industry distinctions. I work in the energy industry; she works in...
TECH Webinar
Opinion Dynamics is the evaluator for TECH Clean California, a large-scale initiative that aims to transform the California market for space- and water-heating heat pumps. We conducted a first-of-its-kind survey with nearly 1,000 heat pump customers to understand...
The Golden State is Baking, Can Passive Home Construction Offer Relief?
By Kessie Avseikova California recently endured a punishing heat wave in the beginning of September that shattered temperature records and had residents see back-to-back Flex Alerts issued by the California Independent System Operator to avert rolling blackouts amid...
Effective Workforce Training Programs Critical to Meeting the Demands of a New Energy Economy
The United States is at a critical juncture for workforce, education, and training to play a pivotal role in decarbonizing the energy sector while simultaneously driving COVID-19 economic recovery and ensuring a diverse workforce. Building decarbonization and...
Lessons Learned from Mature Heat Pump Programs
Article by Jen Loomis and Ellen SteinerHeat pump technology is not new, and neither are programs incentivizing heat pump units. Heat pump adoption has been slow in the United States despite technological advances that have increased efficiency and enabled heat pump...
Recent Articles
Transportation Electrification
Managing a Motherload: The Rise of Commercial and Fleet Load Management
By: Hilary Polis and Hannah MerriamMost utility EV load management programs and technology solutions currently focus on single-family residential customers. However, there is a significant opportunity brewing in the nonresidential sectorwhere charging at commercial...
Webinar SCE Charge Ready
Opinion Dynamics is the evaluator for Southern California Edison’s (SCE) Charge Ready Light Duty program (CRLD). This program supports California’s GHG emissions targets and local air quality goals by offsetting the costs of EV charging stations and their installation...
Charging Forward: Top Six Utility Transportation Electrification Solutions Set to Take Off in 2024
Charging Forward: Top Six Utility Transportation Electrification Solutions Set to Take Off in 2024Featured on Energy Central and published in their January/February Special IssueBy Hilary Polis Last year was marked by a mixture of progress and setbacks in the...
Looking Beyond the Peaks to See the Full Resource Potential of EVs
Looking Beyond the Peaks to See the Full Resource Potential of EVsBy Hilary PolisAs electric vehicle (EV) sales increase, utilities, regulatory bodies, and other key energy industry stakeholders are grappling with how to prepare their existing infrastructure for the...
Four Untapped Opportunities to Improve the EV Journey for Everyday Drivers
Four Untapped Opportunities to Improve the Everyday Driver's EV JourneyBy Hilary Polis Current EV drivers are willing to put up with long wait times to get a vehicle, sub-par public charging experiences, and a need for clarity around rebate/tax credit criteria, among...
Recent Articles
Demand Flexibility
California’s Rate Design Revolution
By: Jordan FolksCalifornia is known for many things: Hollywood movie sets, delicious tacos, surf and sand, sweeping mountain ranges, and, unfortunately, sky high electricity rates. Customers of the state’s three largest investor-owned utilities (IOUs)—Pacific...
Making Room for Resilience: Reflections from the Grid Edge
By Kessie AvseikovaResilience has become an increasingly prominent theme in utility and regulatory discussions, spurred by the rising frequency and severity of weather-related disruptions. Recently, I’ve been prompted to explore this topic more deeply, given the...
Demand Response Decoded: Understanding the Customer Journey
By Ellen Steiner and Kessie AvseikovaWhen we discuss the future of demand response (DR), the conversation often jumps straight to kilowatts, controls, and capacity. But let’s not forget that the success of every DR program depends on a single, often overlooked...
Mind the Mix: How Flexible Load Solutions Interact—and Why It Matters More Than Ever
As electrification and decarbonization efforts accelerate, utilities and policymakers are deploying an ever-growing toolkit of flexible load solutions: from time-of-use (TOU) rates and demand response to managed EV charging, solar PV, battery storage, and electrified...
Optimizing Smart Thermostat Demand Response Load Impacts
Smart thermostat direct load control programs are popular nationwide, with program participation frequently reaching tens of thousands of residential customers in a single utility program. Traditional load curtailment strategies leveraged by those programs include...
Recent Uploads
Podcasts
Who Makes it to the Finish Line?
Transcript Sarah Naiman, Ph. D (00:10):Hello everyone and welcome to today's installment of our Threads of Equity podcast. My name is Sarah Naiman and I'm joined by Jen Loomis. Today we're really excited to talk about some advice that we had given the Department of...
Podcast- The Authentic Partnerships of the Ameren MDI Program
Honored Guests Contact InformationAngie OstaszewskiSenior Project & Program Manager at Ameren IllinoisPaul DouglasPresident and Co-founder of The JPI GroupShow LinksShowcasing the amazing content featured in this podcast is why we choose to put the links first! To...
IRA funding and the energy landscape
Timestamps are included in the YouTube description online as well as links to resources mentioned in the discussion. Links can also be found listed below the transcipt here for convenience.Contact Information Erin Kempster: ekempster@opiniondynamics.com | Jeana...
Threads Of Equity – Residential Decarbonization
Hi, everyone, and welcome to today’s installment of our Threads of Equity podcast. My name is Sarah Naiman. I’m joined today by Jen Loomis, and we are going to be talking about decarbonization and equity within the work that we do. So do you mind introducing yourself to our listeners?
Podcast-Real-time Evaulation – A Primer
Today we are going to talk about embedded evaluation, what it is how it differs from other EM&V approaches, and share some of our experiences utilizing embedded evaluations with our clients in the energy industry.
Recent Articles
News & PR
E Source Acquires Opinion Dynamics
E Source Acquires Opinion Dynamics to Bolster Utility Program Evaluation and Advisory Service CapabilitiesThe acquisition strengthens E Source’s energy efficiency, electrification, and grid-edge solutions by adding comprehensive program evaluation...
Enhancing Grid Flexibility Through Advanced EV Charging Strategies
Governor Kathy Hochul announced this week that $3 million has been awarded to three projects to advance technologies that can help integrate electric vehicles efficiently into the electric grid. Opinion Dynamics is pleased to announce that we are part of the team...
Opinion Dynamics to Support Vermont in Developing a Groundbreaking Clean Heat Standard
WALTHAM, MA, April 16, 2024 – Opinion Dynamics is pleased to announce we have been selected by the Vermont Public Utility Commission to support the development of the Vermont Clean Heat Standard. As the technical consultant to the Commission, Opinion Dynamics will be...
Opinion Dynamics Welcomes Dr. Jim Stewart
Opinion Dynamics Welcomes Dr. Jim Stewart, Senior Director of Data AnalyticsWALTHAM, MA, February 27, 2024 – Opinion Dynamics is pleased to welcome Dr. Jim Stewart as our Senior Director of Data Analytics. As an Energy Economist, Jim has leveraged his expertise in...
Sharyn Barata to Serve on ACEEE Board of Directors
Sharyn Barata to Serve on ACEEE Board of DirectorsWALTHAM, MA., January 5, 2023 – Opinion Dynamics is pleased to announce Sharyn Barata, Senior Vice President of Industry Engagement for Opinion Dynamics has been elected to serve on the Board of Directors for the...
Recent Articles
Opinion
Terms Matter: Teasing Apart the Differences Between Energy Equality, Equity, and Justice
Terms Matter: Teasing Apart the Differences Between Energy Equality, Equity, and JusticeBy Dr. Sarah Naiman While there has been a longstanding awareness of individuals’ disparate access to energy goods, services, and decision-making processes, in recent years, we’ve...
Honoring Trailblazers- Mary Jackson
On this day in history, we honor the extraordinary life and legacy of Mary Jackson, a skilled mathematician, scientist, and aerospace engineer. Mary overcame segregation and gender bias to become NASA’s first Black female engineer in 1958. In the later part of her 34...
There and back again – from office to home to hybrid
Reflections from Sabrina Skelly's bedside office 2020 split whatever notion we may have had of “business as usual” wide open. It sent many of us spiraling into makeshift office spaces with nothing more than a laptop, charger, and false sense that we would be back to...
Partnerships, collaborations, alliances, and networks – no matter the nomenclature, their benefit to utilities is undeniable
Partnerships and collaborations (or alliances and networks, depending on the favored term of choice) are increasingly used throughout the public and private sectors to design and deliver goods and services. Effective partnerships drive outcomes that are greater than...
Leveraging workforce education and training to drive economic recovery, advance equity, and accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy
Prior to the pandemic, the energy sector had been one of the fastest-growing sectors in the United States. However, the energy sector was not immune from the pandemic-induced economic recession, and job losses were steep. According to the US Energy Employment Report...
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