DLC Plans to issue RFP for Applications Work Presently Under Contract by D+R International

EXCLUSIVE:  Must credit EdisonReport:  DLC to issue RFP for applications work presently under contract by D+R International; Launching enforcement program; Spinoff to occur 1 JAN 2017

I flew to Denver for the DLC Conference in Denver last week.  About 250 people attended consisting primarily of utilities and luminaire manufacturers.  My primary mission was to learn more about the DLC spinoff as well as the role that D+R International plays. 

Christina Halfpenny is the director of the DLC and she spoke about The State of the DLC on Wednesday morning.  I had a few email conversations with Ms. Halfpenny prior to the conference so she knew I would be attending.    Before she spoke, I privately gave her a list of three questions I planned to publicly ask.  These were tough questions and they would be controversial.  My job as the humble editor for the EdisonReport is not to try to trip up people, or make them look bad; my job is to gain information and insights for our industry.  Giving a person the questions in advance gives them a chance to prepare, and usually yields more accurate and detailed answers.  Ms. Halfpenny thanked me for the list. 

There were about 25 sessions, workshops, and CEU courses during the three days, and every session that I attended allowed time for audience questions.  One did not.  Ms. Halfpenny’s “State of the DLC.”

One unasked question dealt with the spinoff, which she briefly mentioned at the beginning of her talk.  Another question dealt with the role of D+R International.

Although she did not take questions publicly, I did reach her on the phone earlier this week and she answered all of my questions, fully.  Also, it is important to note that in every instance where we have emailed Ms. Halfpenny during her tenure at DLC, she has responded expeditiously and thoroughly.

Here is what we learned from our conversation:

  • The spinoff will occur on 1 JAN 2017 and the DLC will be its own 501c(3) non-profit. It will be run by a Board of Directors who will consist of current NEEP Board members as well as the DLC Advisory Committee.  This advisory committee has worked previously on financial models and their energy is now devoted primarily to governance issues for the new spinoff.  Members of that committee are:
    • Steve Nadell,  ACEEE
    • Scott Johnstone, Efficiency Vermont
    • Alecia Ward, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
    • Regina Durga, Siemens
    • Carlos Nouel, National Grid

D+R.jpg

  • D+R International has the current applications contract which they were awarded about three years ago.   The big news is that DLC plans a RFP on 26 AUG, which will allow other companies to bid on this important and likely financially lucrative work.  DLC has seven employees but D+R has 20 devoted to the DLC project. The large portion of DLC’s revenue goes to D+R, who also does work for Energy Star and Energy Facts.  David Steiner is the president of D+R.  Although I have briefly met Mr. Steiner, I have been unsuccessful in setting an in-person meeting or even a phone conversation.
  • DLC’s revenue for 2015 was $5.5M, for 2016 it was $7.0M.

Other things we learned at the conference:

  • With TRT 4.0, the average efficacy standard for affected categories will increase by 23 LPW, an average increase of 34% and DLC says 40% to 60% of current products will no longer meet the requirement.  All products that do not meet the QPL 4.0 by 1 APR 2017 will be deleted from the list.   
  • There is frustration from some luminaire manufacturers with the DLC Premium program in they find few utilities offer additional rebates based on this higher criteria.
  • More general use of the DLC logo will be permitted, but there will be more diligence on enforcement. 
  • DLC will kick-off a surveillance program in about one month. Not sure how this will work, but anything that catches bad actors is a good thing for the industry.
  • In 2012, there were 25,000 products from 220 manufacturers on the QPL; today there are198,000 from 1506 manufacturers.
  • DLC plans to publish a predictable schedule of specification revisions.  They heard complaints that some luminaire manufactures were unaware and had not planned for the retesting that will be required under QPL 4.0.
  • Training modules will be available in the fourth quarter for the new network controls program. DLC wants to study 75 installations with controls.
  • DLC’s website is changing and moving to an e-commerce platform.  Initially I was concerned that DLC would begin charging to view their database.  However we were told that a userid is encouraged, but will not be mandatory.

There were a few slides and comments in various presentations discussing DLC’s emphasis on transparency and EdisonReport hears many complaints about their lack of it.   Spinning off the DLC, which will require it to publish their own IRS 990 form, is a start.  Also issuing the RFP to ensure competitiveness is another good idea.

However, even with these two very important steps, the fact remains that the non-profit DLC will still pay the vast majority of their funds to a private, for-profit, third party making it difficult for the EdisonReport and others to know if the industry’s $7.0M is being spent wisely or if someone is getting rich off our fees.  If the DLC wants to be fully transparent, we humbly suggest they cancel their RFP and hire their own staff to do the applications work presently farmed out to D+R International.  Then we could really know where the money goes.

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