Why Frontier?

Our expertise stems from years of experience working at every stage of efficiency program life-cycles. Our success is built on an unwavering commitment to our clients. We believe in collaboration, prioritizing communication, transparency, and adaptability above all else. It is this client-focused, relationship-based project approach that has helped Frontier retain clients for over 15 years.

Utility Demand Side Management

Program Design

Having worked at each phase of the utility program life-cycle, from initial studies of potential, through impact analysis and regulatory reporting, Frontier has a broad base of real-world experience to draw on when designing demand side management programs.  Frontier was responsible for research and authorship of the residential HVAC, commercial HVAC, and new construction program chapters of the California National Best Practices Study (www.eebestpractices.com). Frontier was also the “Report Lead” for the “What’s New” chapter of the National Best Practices Study.

Frontier has provided services for over 100 unique program models, for utilities of widely varying sizes and locations.

Implementation

Frontier Associates provides implementation and administration solutions for electric and gas utilities, as well as for state and local governments. We earned prominence in the industry through rapid deployment of field and back-office support for utility programs, offering turnkey utility program management solutions and support for existing processes and personnel.

In Texas alone, Frontier-implemented programs have served over 1 Million utility customers, disbursing over $900 Million in utility incentives. These programs delivered over 55,000 GWh of energy savings and upwards of 2,000 MW of demand reduction. 

Evaluation & Deemed Savings

In the early 2000s Frontier began providing deemed savings for utility program evaluation, measurement, and verification (EM&V). Since that time, Frontier has calculated and updated deemed savings for utilities in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. Frontier's EnerTrek® software division offers utilities the Deemed Savings Engine (DSE) tool for central maintenance and seamless integration of deemed savings with utility tracking systems. Read more at: http://www.frontierassoc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/DeemedSavingsEngine_fact_sheet_Final.pdf 

Frontier's selection to provide engineering and technical expertise for ongoing updates to the Texas and Arkansas statewide Technical Reference Manuals is a testament to our reputation in the utility industry for unbiased and reliable analysis.

Electric Grid Services & Smart Meter Data Analysis

The next generation grid will incorporate distributed generation, electric vehicles, smart meters, smart appliances, smart customers and smart strategies. Frontier helps integrate data, power and people to fully realize the next generation grid’s potential. 

Renewable Energy

Frontier services for renewable energy include studies of potential, program design, implementation, evaluation, and deemed savings. In 2009 Frontier Associates proposed and delivered a market transformation incentive program design that became the model for all current investor-owned utility PV incentive programs in Texas. 

In April 2010 Oncor reported to the Public Utility Commission of Texas that the Frontier-implemented solar PV program had been “successful beyond its wildest dreams.”  

The number of PV Installers in Texas certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) increased from 12 to 127, and the number of active solar installation companies increased from 20 to over 200 between 2009 (when the programs first opened) and 2014. In 2010 Texas was listed among the nation’s top 10 solar states for the first time. By late 2014 the programs had provided nearly $30 million in incentives to over 1,600 projects totaling more than 17 MWdc of distributed solar installations.

Water Conservation

The importance of water conservation and management is growing around the world. Frontier's efficiency experts help water utilities with demand side management support including rate design, advanced metering, modeling, tracking and evaluation. In a recent project for the Austin Water Utility, Frontier performed an evaluation using regression models to illuminate complex relationships between water consumption, weather, and impacts of conservation programs and irrigation restrictions on residential, commercial, and wholesale water customers. Frontier’s analysis helped Austin Water to quantify the effectiveness of its conservation efforts and negotiate with wholesale water suppliers, leading to reduced costs for its customers.

Our lengthy experience in conservation makes Frontier an ideal choice for tackling water problems. 

Rate Design & Regulatory Assistance

Over the past 15 years, our professional staff has assisted a variety of clients on projects related to rate design, energy efficiency, peak demand reduction, and regulatory policy. Frontier has designed electricity and natural gas rates and pricing strategies for a variety of clients. We assisted Xcel Energy in the design of inclining block residential rates, and consulted with Nucor Steel and Chaparral Steel in the design of interruptible service and industrial time-of-use tariffs in numerous states. Frontier has completed cost allocation studies for utilities in Arizona and Texas. 

Having worked extensively with utilities, regulatory commission staff, and consumer groups, we understand their perspectives and interests and the need to strike an appropriate balance.