In anticipation of this year’s IEPEC, we’re spotlighting teammates who will travel to Denver this October to present their findings. This month, we chatted with Principal Economist Ferit Ucar about “Counting More Than Kilowatts: Monetizing Utility Cost Savings from Reduced Arrearages and Collections,” co-authored with NMR Director Greg Clendenning.

Can you give me a brief summary on your paper’s topic and findings?

In this paper, we looked at how low-income energy-efficiency and weatherization programs in Pennsylvania impact both customers and utilities. Participating customers saw fewer late payments, shutoffs, and collection actions. For utilities, this translated into what we call utility non-energy benefits: measurable financial savings on arrearages, bad debt, and customer service costs. These findings show that such programs can reduce financial stress for households while also lowering costs for all ratepayers.

Why does the this topic excite you?

I’m really excited about non-energy impact (NEI) research. Low-income programs are often viewed as less cost-effective than other programs, but they actually deliver bigger non-energy benefits. That’s why it’s so important to factor those into cost-benefit analyses—to get a fairer picture of the value these programs provide and to support more equitable outcomes. I especially enjoyed working with detailed data on participant arrearages and utility collection activities, which let us estimate the non-energy benefits from reduced arrearages and fewer collection actions.

Can you share a bit about yourself, your time at NMR, and your history in energy efficiency?

I’m Principal Economist at NMR, and I’ve been working in energy efficiency for over 15 years. A lot of my work centers on billing analysis, NEIs, and how we design studies. Before joining NMR, I was at the New York State Department of Public Service, where I worked on energy-efficiency and electrification initiatives. I also spent time at the Environmental Defense Fund, focusing on distributed energy resources, rate design, and beneficial electrification. I did my Ph.D. in economics at Princeton.

Check back for more spotlights and after the conference in October for the full paper!