The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) contracted with ERS to conduct a market progress evaluation of the Commercial Code Enhancement (CCE) program. The study took place between June 2020 and March 2021 and drew on findings from an extensive documentation review, more than 30 interviews with NEEA program staff and state and local stakeholders, and structured work sessions with the CCE program team. The objectives of the study were to assess whether and how the program aligns with its documented program theory, primarily by tracking progress toward stated Market Transformation goals.
The study concluded that the CCE program operates more as a component of the alliance’s codes and standards activities than as a stand-alone Market Transformation program. The program was able to make progress by adapting to the opportunities and unique code development environment in each state. However, these adaptations resulted in a customized approach for each state that deviated from the original CCE Market Transformation logic. The study recommends that the CCE program be merged into the alliance’s existing codes and standards efforts and that the CCE program logic be updated to reflect its role in supporting and extending alliance codes and standards activities.
