Appendix D – Roles and Responsibilities
1. Role of Energy Trust
Energy Trust will provide oversight of the PMC and program guidance. Energy Trust’s role
includes, but is not limited to the following:
Program Oversight
 Monitor the overall program budget.
 Provide guidance and oversight to the PMC in program development, delivery,
management and marketing.
 Conduct quality assurance to monitor savings, budget expenditures and adherence
with Energy Trust policies.
 Evaluate the program to assure that the program and PMC are achieving Energy
Trust goals.
Operations
 Provide funding for PMC contract and program incentives.
 Review and approve market-facing program materials and forms.
 Work with the PMC to coordinate program design and marketing with other related
local, regional and national initiatives and organizations, specifically including the
offerings of the Oregon Department of Housing and Community Services, Oregon
Department of Energy, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and Bonneville Power
Administration.
 Coordinate efforts with Energy Trust information services (e.g., website, call center,
customer, reporting and program tracking system, forms and applications, trade ally
team, etc.).
 Provide IT systems training and support to PMC staff on Energy Trust CRM and
program tracking systems.
 Provide standardized program operations reports .
 Track overall program impact and financial status and report to the Energy Trust
Board of Directors, Conservation Advisory Council and OPUC.
Planning and Evaluation
 Provide guidance, final review and approval of cost-effectiveness of overall program
and individual measures, including coordination with PMC staff to support new
measure development.
 Coordinate with PMC to lead process and impact evaluations and evaluation of pilots
and new initiatives, as well as other evaluation and market research work as needed.
Marketing and Outreach
 Oversight, review and approval of all program marketing.
 Energy Trust may assume responsibility for producing some marketing materials and
advertising for the program.
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Establish public relations objectives and coordinate with the PMC on program
implementation and messaging and assist the PMC on alignment with that
messaging through marketing materials, event tracking and response procedures,
overall media buying strategies and systems for procurement and coordination of
shared media plans.
Provide customer experience training, which includes information on customer
experience guiding principles, how to represent Energy Trust to the public,
relationships with participating utilities and an overview of all Energy Trust offerings.
Provide Energy Trust brand guidelines and training.
Allies
 Review and approve trade ally communications.
 Enroll new trade allies and maintain trade ally records.
 Investigate trade ally related complaints and support PMC efforts to resolve trade ally
related complaints.
2. Monthly Invoicing and Progress Reports
PMC will submit a monthly invoice and progress report electronically on the 10th day of each
month (or the following business day). Invoices shall reflect current charges; payment for
charges which are not considered current may be delayed or withheld.
Monthly progress reports will address,at a minimum, the following:
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Narrative of progress on deliverables and program activity.
Narrative on outreach and marketing activities.
Ability to meet schedule for deliverables and deviations from schedule.
Identification of problems and obstacles and potential solutions.
Narrative of progress on energy savings and expenditures compared to annual
budgets and annual savings goals.
Installed savings, paid incentives and cost-effectiveness status for the previous
month.
Installed savings, paid incentives and cost-effectiveness status for the year-to-date.
Forecast of proposed and committed energy savings and incentives, and PMC
expenses by budget category and by service territory for the remainder of the
calendar year, for the next 12 months and as far into the future as the program can
predict.
Market feedback, complaints and compliments.
Plans for next reporting period.
All Energy Trust programs are expected to deliver status reports to the Energy Trust Board
of Directors, OPUC and Energy Trust Conservation Advisory Council on an as-needed
basis. It is expected that the PMC will support Energy Trust staff in the development of this
material. In addition to regular reporting duties, the PMC will be required to produce a
variety of ad-hoc reports, at the request of the program and stakeholders, covering any and
all program-related activity.
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3. Planning and Evaluation Coordination and Roles
Evaluation
Energy Trust regularly evaluates all of its programs as part of its commitment to continuous
improvement and its obligation to the OPUC. There are two main types of evaluations that
are conducted on a regular basis: process and impact evaluations. Process evaluations
focus on documenting and reviewing the program, and soliciting feedback to determine how
implementation can be improved. These evaluations occur on an annual or biennial basis, at
the discretion of Energy Trust. Impact evaluations focus on both measure savings and
influence on market share and market transformation. Impact evaluations may influence
deemed savings determinations at the beginning of ensuing years and feed into the program
savings realization adjustment factors used to determine reportable savings. Past evaluation
reports can be found on Energy Trust's website at www.energytrust.org/reports.
In general, evaluations will be conducted by independent firms (evaluation contractors) with
whom Energy Trust contracts. Input on the focus, scope and timing of these evaluations is
expected from the PMC, as is participation in the evaluations through interviews, meetings,
responding to questions from Energy Trust staff or evaluation contractors, providing data,
project files, or other program information, and providing feedback on draft and final
evaluation reports. The PMC is required to accommodate and budget for a supporting role in
all evaluations.
Energy Trust also conducts an ongoing survey of customers of most Energy Trust programs,
called “Fast Feedback.” Fast Feedback is a short phone survey of recent participants to
assess satisfaction, understand participant decision making and gather suggestions for
program and process improvements. Fast Feedback is Energy Trust’s main source of
information on free ridership, which feeds into the savings realization adjustment factors,
and satisfaction, which is a performance metric for Energy Trust and is regularly reported to
the OPUC. The phone surveys are conducted by a third-party contractor and are not a part
of the PMC budget; however, the PMC is expected to review survey instruments and results
and, if needed, suggest program and/or process changes to improve the customer
experience or program operations. Results from 2011, 2012 and 2013 Fast Feedback
surveys are available on Energy Trust's website.
Energy Trust may conduct other evaluation or market research tasks in response to
requests from program or PMC staff, changes in the market, evaluation results, or for other
reasons. For example, Energy Trust has conducted a lighting shelf space survey to gain
insight into the retail lighting market and track changes in the market over time. Energy Trust
Evaluation staff will engage with program and PMC staff on pilots or new program initiatives,
to test new technologies or program designs. Energy Trust Evaluation staff are generally
involved in the design of pilots, development of evaluation plans, and execution of pilot
evaluation activities, like interviews and analysis.
Costs associated with the participating in the program evaluation process and for
cooperating with Energy Trust’s evaluation contractors should be included as part of the
proposal.
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Planning
Staff from Energy Trust’s Planning group work closely with PMCs to ensure that measures
and programs meet the OPUC cost-effectiveness policies and guidelines. The main area of
coordination between organizations is in regards to new measure development and
adjustments to existing measures based on changes to market conditions and technology
performance assumptions. Energy Trust planning personnel sit on the Regional Technical
Forum (RTF) and generally manage how regional measure specific assumptions and
analysis methods are integrated into Energy Trust program assumptions. PMC staff supply
new measure characteristics data such as savings and cost data to Energy Trust where they
have expertise and can bring their perspectives to the team. All new measures and measure
changes must be reviewed by Planning and approved through a measure analysis
document. When determining deemed savings, Energy Trust refers to RTF, analysis done or
reviewed by Planning, or from evaluated savings from impact evaluations and billing
analyses.
Energy Trust values PMC technical expertise as an extension of Energy Trust resources
and finds that encouraging a collaborative measure development relationship is most
effective in helping accomplish goals. As codes and standards develop rapidly and
continued cost effectiveness requires incremental savings value to outweigh incremental
cost, having both organizations well versed in developing the measures Energy Trust
supports is critical to success.
The PMC is required to oversee many of the technical requirements of the program. Duties
may include analysis of measures, program tracks and initiatives, development of new
measures and program designs, and awareness and understanding of current market
research. Tasks involved in analysis and development of measures include:
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Identification and tracking of key data for Energy Trust Planning and Evaluation
group
Ongoing analysis of measures for cost-effectiveness including necessary
documentation
Continually staying abreast of the current market research to identify market
opportunities and emerging technologies
Maintaining a detailed understanding of the Pacific Northwest multifamily market and
its unique challenges
Understanding the importance of evaluation in informing program design and
measuring success of initiatives and ways in which PMC plans to incorporate support
for evaluation
4. Customer Experience
Customer Service Activities
PMC will complete the following Energy Trust customer service activities, which may change
over time:
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Represent the program at relevant marketing and outreach events that reach
multifamily customer segments and the entire Energy Trust service territory.
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Provide regional outreach and service delivery in outlying service territories to ensure
equitable and adequate customer service and experience, alignment with regional
stakeholders, and broad awareness of program services and offerings.
Participate, as requested, in work-process mappings or trainings designed to
improve service to Energy Trust customers.
Coordinate with Energy Trust receptionist, call center staff and other Energy Trust
customer service representatives to resolve customer inquiries by:
o Staying up-to-date on current Energy Trust programs.
o Utilizing SharePoint on a regular basis to access Energy Trust updates.
o Attending customer experience trainings, and cross-functional customer
service working meetings.
o Striving to resolve the customer’s inquiry with a minimum number of transfers
and delays.
 If possible and as appropriate, promoting other Energy Trust offers to
customers and providing a seamless referral.
 Accepting inbound calls from Energy Trust’s call centers and routing
appropriately.
o The PMC will document, resolve and escalate all issues and complaints in
accordance with Energy Trust’s case escalation procedures.
o Meet agreed-upon service level agreements related to call pick-up time,
voicemail return, written customer communications and other customer
service standards.
o Record calls and follow agreed-upon call monitoring process.
Provide and maintain a program-specific toll-free telephone number with full in-bound
services during normal business hours.
Respond to program-specific phone and email inquiries referred to PMC from Energy
Trust general call center, general inquiry emails and utility and OPUC call centers.
Document and address all complaints in accordance with its developed procedures
and Energy Trust’s requirements.
Currently, the program receives roughly 40 calls per month directly and roughly 20 calls per
month from Energy Trust’s main call center/IVR.
Customer Service Values
Energy Trust has established customer service values and expects that the approach of the
PMC(s) (and any subcontractors that they manage) will be in alignment with those values.
1. SIMPLIFY: Keep it simple and clear. Know your audience and address them
appropriately. Avoid internal jargon, and help customers understand their process
from start to finish.
2. ASSIST: Always be helpful—even if the person is not eligible for Energy Trust
offers. Every customer should receive information, referrals or guidance. Always
strive to answer questions, offer referrals to other organizations, and above all,
provide useful, accurate information.
3. PROVIDE EXPERTISE: Be aware of all the services Energy Trust offers.
Determine what offerings are best for the customer. If you are not the expert on
these offerings, or if a different program is supposed to serve this customer type,
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provide a quick and seamless referral to the appropriate person or program. Assist in
providing a “one-stop shopping” experience for the customer.
4. NAVIGATE: Listen to your customers—attentively and actively—and target
their options while navigating them through to action. Take the time to identify
customer needs by asking questions and concentrating on what the customer is
really saying. If we offer too much information or too many options, customers may
be stopped in their tracks.
5. DELIVER: Follow through with what you promised or offered. For example, if
you tell a customer you will get back to them within four hours, do it—even if you do
not have an answer to their question yet. Make sure you close the deal.
Online Communications
The PMC will be responsible for developing program web content for both the consumer and
trade ally-facing web pages of www.enerytrust.org. The PMC will work with Energy Trust
marketing team to launch and update program web pages so that all content is current. Prior
to the conceptual design of any new web pages or interactive elements, the PMC will
consult with Energy Trust on how best to incorporate them into the site. Content provided by
the PMC will be delivered in electronic text and image files, and will document all major
program elements for each program segment, including, but not limited to, participation
eligibility criteria for customers, allies, program process and benefits, measure incentives
and incentive structure, participant and ally forms, and contact information. The PMC will
provide the updated content to Energy Trust’s web team within no less than 10 business
days of any change in eligibility requirements, financial incentives, program processes, etc.
The PMC will also coordinate with Energy Trust on the use of other available branded
electronic communication and marketing channels, such as social media and broadcast
email. PMC must receive prior approval from Energy Trust marketing for most changes to
web content and updates.
Marketing
The PMC is responsible for developing and implementing a detailed annual program
marketing plan outlining marketing goals, strategies and tactics for consumers and allies in
alignment with program savings goals and priorities.
PMC will develop all program specific marketing materials (including web design and copy
changes) and ensure that these are professional, well written and meet the established
Energy Trust Brand and Style Guidelines. Marketing plans, marketing materials and
outreach activities will be reviewed and approved through Energy Trust’s process utilizing
an Energy Trust designated electronic tool for submission, review and approval. For
targeted marketing efforts delivered to consumers via email and direct mail, the PMC will be
required to use Energy Trust’s CRM system. The PMC will provide electronic copies of final
native files and any imagery for all program-related marketing materials. The PMC will be
required to follow Energy Trust brand guidelines in all communications and marketing and
communication materials to consumers and allies.
The PMC will evaluate the effectiveness of marketing efforts, refine marketing approaches
with input from Energy Trust, and report the results and recommendations to Energy Trust
through monthly or quarterly reports. Energy Trust’s Commercial Marketing Manager will be
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the primary liaison to the PMC for all program marketing including but not limited to
advertising, PR, social media, collateral and call center talking points in alignment with
program savings goals.
5. Forms and Program Documents
All program forms and documents, including web forms, used to document program
participation requirements, work flows and incentive agreements consistent with Energy
Trust’s requirements will be prepared and updated as needed by the PMC. PMC will submit
forms as per Energy Trust’s defined forms process and work with Energy for final formatting,
terms and conditions and overall content.
6. Payment Processing and Archive
Incentives are typically submitted by the PMC weekly. All incentive payment transactions are
posted using Energy Trust’s FTR system. All incentive information is entered into the project
tracking system by processing staff at the PMC. Every payment request must undergo a
standard data QC process, involving checks at the PMC and Energy Trust prior to approval
by Energy Trust. QC includes, but is not limited to, spot-checks and statistical checks for
validation of accuracy and completeness.
During all processing activities, the program performs the following tasks:
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Verify that incentive application forms meet program requirements and that all
required project paperwork is present, complete, legible and accurate.
Complete accurate data entry of participant information, incentive application
information and payment details.
Process payments, track and verify data.
Authorize incentive payments according to Energy Trust protocols.
Collect tax identification information for contractors who could potentially have a
taxable event with the receipt of an incentive payment.
Ensure all active measures in Energy Trust’s program tracking systems are up to
date.
Identify and provide tax information when required for incentive payment.
7. Audit Requirements
External Audit
As a 501(c) (3) charitable organization, Energy Trust is required to annually obtain an audit
by an independent auditing firm. Energy Trust is subject to an annual audit performance
measure imposed by the OPUC Grant Agreement. Because of the nature of the PMC(s)
work for Energy Trust, the PMC will be obtaining, creating and retaining records relating to
how Energy Trust's funds are spent. The PMC will keep its own financial records according
to GAAP, and will keep accurate and complete records of how Energy Trust's funds are
spent so as to enable Energy Trust to appropriately respond to audits and to any other
authorized external information requests.
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Internal Audit
Energy Trust administers a quarterly audit which provides insight into the program’s
adherence to written policies, and provides opportunities to discuss process improvements.
After the audit, Energy Trust outlines their findings in a formal memo and the PMC and
program manager have an opportunity to respond and clarify.
The PMC will be required to cooperate with Energy Trust auditors, either internal or external.
Record Management
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In support of operations, customer service and auditability, the PMC is required to
maintain electronic or hard copy file records, according to Energy Trust processes and
procedures, with all associated paperwork in systematic order with a clear accounting of
the contents, the final disposition of the project and storage in a secure location.
Periodically, Energy Trust archives records, securing them from changes, and marking
for destruction according to standard retention schedules. The PMC is expected to
submit files in the format and according to the schedules specified.
8. Quality Control and Quality Assurance
Quality control of projects and project documentation is the primary responsibility of the
PMC. The PMC is responsible for developing and documenting quality control procedures
for all aspects of program operations. Quality control and compliance procedures, at a
minimum, are to incorporate all relevant Energy Trust policy and program requirements. For
those aspects of program operations requiring licenses or certification, quality control
standards and procedures will be consistent with and rely on industry standards. Costs
associated with quality control and compliance must be considered and included in
budgeting for this proposal.
The PMC is responsible for supporting project selection and scheduling of field based
quality control verifications of installed measures for compliance with program requirements
and technical specifications when appropriate.
In addition to the quality control procedures implemented by each PMC, Energy Trust also
hires third party contractors in order to provide an additional level of quality assurance (QA)
on in-field measure installations. The PMC will be required to support and provide resources
necessary to comply with all quality assurance and evaluation requests by Energy Trust in a
timely manner. Although specific QA project audits may be regularly scheduled weekly and
quarterly, any project may be audited at any time.
9. Information Technology Requirements
The PMC will be required to use Energy Trust’s information technology systems and
software as outlined below to document aspects of its work. Energy Trust systems are the
system of record for all program activities. These systems also provide a level of contract
and project management functionality to the PMC. The PMC may elect to develop additional
tools to manage their Energy Trust-related work but, at a minimum, must use Energy Trust’s
system as specified in order to allow Energy Trust to distribute incentives, track, and report
on the program.
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Authorized PMC staff will be given access to Energy Trust’s systems via secure SSL VPN
server which provides MS terminal services using the Internet Explorer browser as the user
interface. Each authorized user will be provided appropriately configured individual logins to
the authorized systems. An efficient and reliable internet connection is essential to the
effective use of Energy Trust systems. Although Energy Trust will provide some technical
assistance to the PMC’s network support staff or contractors, the responsibility for
maintenance of compatible network infrastructure is the responsibility of the PMC.
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Software
The PMC is required to use, or have integration capabilities with, Energy Trust’s project
tracking system, which includes a customer relationship management application, Microsoft
Dynamics, and a proprietary client-server project and incentive management application to
document aspects of its work. These two applications are described below. Microsoft
Dynamics is licensed to Energy Trust by a third party and FTR is a proprietary application
owned by Energy Trust. Energy Trust requires that the systems defined below serve as the
systems of record for all program data.
Customer Relationship Management System (Microsoft Dynamics)
The Microsoft Dynamics customer relationship management (CRM) application is used to
track customer engagement and project site information. Types of information collected
include, but are not limited to, contact information, telephone calls, emails sent, and notes.
CRM is also used by the PMCs to manage trade allies (e.g., name, address, specialties,
status, and contact information). CRM is also used for select targeted marketing campaigns,
CRM campaign activities focus on email and direct mail communications. The CRM
database is located at Energy Trust and the Energy Trust IT department is responsible for
its administration.
FTR
Energy Trust’s FTR system is used to document and track projects, proposed, committed
and installed measures, costs, project forecasts and budgets and to request incentive
payments. The PMC will be responsible for entering this type of information for all projects
and transactions. Data from the project tracking system will be the primary source for
Energy Trust and PMC analysis. All data is administered by Energy Trust’s IT team, as is
access to the project tracking system. All individual users will be required to execute a utility
data non-disclosure agreement and submit an authorized FTR user account setup and
training prior to being granted access to FTR. All changes to program and measure data
structures are entered by Energy Trust’s internal administrative staff. A measure request
must be completed and submitted to Energy Trust four weeks prior to any implementation of
measure change or measure addition to allow appropriate time for review, approval, and
data entry.
Web Applications
Development and support of web applications that interact with Energy Trust’s project
tracking system web services catalogue require the approval of Energy Trust IT.
Development of web applications hosted on Energy Trust’s corporate site is managed by
Energy Trust’s IT department. The program is required to proactively communicate new
requirements for web applications to Energy Trust’s IT department and allow a minimum
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nine weeks for development. Respondents shall optionally document how their applications
and architecture can support modern, SOAP and RESTful web services to support current
or future integration requirements.
Integration Services
Business-to-business data exchanges and interaction with externally hosted web
applications may be supported by Energy Trust’s IT department with an available program
tracking system web services catalogue. The development of integration services requires
the approval of the web applications steering committee. The program is required to
proactively communicate new requirements for integration services to Energy Trust’s IT
department and allow a minimum nine weeks for development. Respondents shall optionally
document how their applications and architecture can support modern, SOAP and RESTful
web services to support current or future integration requirements.
Data Entry
The PMC will be expected to record pertinent contact and project information in the program
tracking system. All contacts made with a participant or potential participant are recorded in
CRM. Initial contact with a potential participant requires the creation of a contact record for
that participant in the contact management system. Subsequent contacts with participants
are added as addendums to the appropriate contact record in the contact management
system. Maintenance of trade ally records and management oversight of duplicate record
creation is an essential part of the customer relationship management process.
All projects and incentive payment transactions are recorded and maintained in FTR and
reference customer and other player information stored in the CRM.
Extranet
Energy Trust maintains an extranet that is used as a common repository for PMC programspecific documents and other Energy Trust administrative processes. The finalized forms
repository is on SharePoint. Other administrative process documents for FTR and most
reporting are on Sharepoint and made available for PMC access. The PMC will be required
to adhere to the specified uses of the extranet. Access to this extranet is via the same SSL
VPN security processes required for use of the program tracking system. Use and
understanding of SharePoint is required by the individuals at PMC allowed to post and/or
edit documents in SharePoint.
Internet Connectivity
The PMC will be responsible for providing and maintaining an appropriate high-speed, high
performance Internet connection and compatible Windows-based computers so that its staff
can effectively access Energy Trust systems and software. Dedicated internet bandwidth is
recommended, as is the ability to monitor bandwidth. The PMC will also be responsible for
virus-protection, security, and appropriate firewall precautions, all of which must be
approved by Energy Trust. All costs associated with the PMC’s Internet connection and any
costs associated with anti-virus, security, and firewall precautions will be the responsibility of
the PMC at no cost to Energy Trust.
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Secure Access
Energy Trust will provide secure access to its systems by way of an SSL VPN. The PMC will
be responsible for abiding by Energy Trust compliance, access, security, and confidentiality
procedures. The PMC is responsible for notifying Energy Trust immediately upon an
employee’s separation or assignment to work that does not require access to Energy Trust
systems. Energy Trust needs to monitor all individual system access authorizations and
obtain confidentiality agreements for all new personnel.
PMC Desktop and Network Support
The PMC will be responsible for abiding by Energy Trust compliance, access, security, and
confidentiality procedures. The PMC is responsible for notifying Energy Trust immediately
upon an employee’s separation or assignment to work that does not require access to
Energy Trust systems. Energy Trust will monitor all individual system access authorizations
and obtain confidentiality agreements for all new personnel. The PMC will also need access
to the Energy Trust SSLVPN at a specified URL and RDP access to an alternate address for
use as a failover if the SSL VPN isn’t available. A small VPN client will need to be installed
on all workstations that connect to the SSL VPN. Firewall traffic will need to be allowed to a
specified port.
Energy Trust will be responsible for training users on how to use its systems and software.
Ongoing trainings will be required as needed to improve data quality and customer service.
PMC will comply with all Energy Trust security procedures.
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