About Power Partners℠

	Power Partners℠ ^{Resource Guide}

About Power Partners℠

The electric power industry has partnered with the Department of Energy (DOE) to create Power Partners℠ — a joint government-industry initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Through Power Partners℠, the power sector and DOE are working together to develop and implement climate actions to sustain economic growth.

The electric power sector participates in the Climate VISION program through the Electric Power Industry Climate Initiative (EPICI), an umbrella group of power sector organizations. The memberships of the seven organizations that comprise EPICI represent 100% of the power generators in the United States:

	APPA	The *American Public Power Association* represents the interests of the nation’s nearly 2,000 not-for-profit community- and state-owned electric utilities.
	LPPC	The *Large Public Power Council* is an organization of 24 of the largest publicly owned electric utilities. Publicly owned electric utilities provide electric service to more than 40 million Americans.
	EEI	The *Edison Electric Institute* is the association of U.S. shareholder-owned electric companies, international affiliates, and industry associates worldwide. EEI’s U.S. members serve 97 percent of the ultimate customers in the shareholder-owned segment of the industry, and 71 percent of all electric utility ultimate customers in the nation.
	EPSA	The *Electric Power Supply Association* is the national trade association representing competitive power suppliers. Using the cleanest, most efficient generating technologies available, EPSA’s members are serving the nation’s growing need for power.
	NRECA	The *National Rural Electric Cooperative Association* is the national service organization that represents the nation’s 900-plus, consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide electric service to more than 39 million people in 47 states.
	NEI	The Nuclear Energy Institute is the policy organization of the nuclear energy and technologies industry and participates in both national and global policy-making processes. NEI’s objective is to ensure the formation of policies that promote the beneficial uses of nuclear energy and technologies in the United States and around the world.
	TVA	The *Tennessee Valley Authority* is a federal corporation and the nation’s largest public power company. Congress established TVA in 1933 primarily to provide flood control, navigation, and electric power in the Tennessee Valley region.

Power Partners℠ climate actions are guided by the principles of improved energy efficiency, increased investments in research and development, technological innovation, market-based initiatives, and cost-effective carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reductions. In addition to individual company actions, which are the cornerstone of Power Partners℠programs, member companies throughout the electric power industry are participating in several, industry-wide initiatives to reduce, avoid, and sequester greenhouse gas emissions.

Power Partners℠ Annual Report

The reporting plan for Power Partners℠is described in the December 13, 2004 Climate VISION Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. electric power sector and the U.S. Department of Energy:

The Power Partners℠will prepare an annual report on activities and accomplishments under this MOU, beginning two calendar years after this MOU is signed by the Parties. This report shall present the actions taken and results achieved through the Climate VISION program during the preceding year and shall include an analysis that explains how these activities and accomplishments represent a meaningful contribution by the power sector to the President’s 18 percent GHG emission intensity reduction goal. In support of this effort, the Power Partners℠ will develop a standardized metric for annual reporting to measure progress in reducing carbon emission intensity for the electric power sector. This report and accompanying analysis will reflect trends and conditions within the power sector and other major sectors of the U.S. economy.

The first Power Partners℠ Annual Report was published in January 2007. The full report (PDF, 3.6MB) can be downloadable from this website using this link: Reports&pubs\PowerPartners(sm)-AnnualReport-Jan2007.pdf. Progress will also be reported on DOE's Climate Vision website.

Power Partners℠: Reported Results

Power Partners℠ Results for 2002-2005:

From the Executive Summary of the January 2007 Power Partners℠ Annual Report, The Power Partners℠ presented their estimate of progress made over the 2002 to 2005 period. In 2005, only three years into the program, the GHG emissions intensity was already 2.54 percent lower than the base year average:

"Our industry is currently on track to meet its reduction targets, with adjusted power sector carbon intensity approaching a three- percent reduction compared to the baseline level after only three years into the 10-year program. ... Achieving the goal set forth in the MOU will be a significant accomplishment when considering the difficult challenges the electric power sector faces. ... However, as this report demonstrates, the Power Partners℠ have made important progress to date and we are on track to reach our goal. The Power Partners℠ look forward to continuing to work together with DOE and other government agencies to find innovative ways to reduce the GHG emissions intensity in the power sector—and ultimately to help meet the national emissions-intensity goal."

Power Partners℠ Results for 2006 (CO2 only):

In December 2008, the Energy Information Administration published its report Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2007 (Report # DOE/EIA-0573(2007), December 2008). EIA's full report is available from EIA's website at http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt/pdf/0573(2007).pdf. The report presents revised data for years up through 2006. Preliminary data are also shown for 2007, although this is typically revised in subsequent years.

EIA's revised data for 2006 show that it was a year of enormous progress in the electric power sector's efforts to reduce GHG intensity. EIA reported that from 2005 to 2006, electricity generation from electric utilities and independent power producers was essentially flat, increasing just 0.15 percent over 2005 levels. At the same time, electric power sector CO2 emissions in 2006 fell by over 33 million tons from 2005 levels, a 1.4 percent decline. Together, the revised data for 2006 show an improvement in the CO2 intensity of about 1.5 percent from 2005 levels.

Relative to the year 2000, electric power sector CO2 emissions in 2006 represent an increase of 2.75 percent over the six-year period. In contrast, net generation over the same 2000-2006 period rose by over 7.4 percent.

EIA's estimates above cover only CO2 emissions, and as such do not capture the impact of several categories of actions that are measured by Power Partners℠, such as improving end-use energy efficiency and reducing electricity demand, improving transmission and distribution efficiency, and “off-system” actions such as tree-planting programs. These additional factors are measured and incorporated into the Power Partners℠ Intensity metric.

Climate VISION Progress Report 2007

On February 1, 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy released the Climate VISION Progress Report 2007, which reports on the actions taken by energy-intensive industries to improve greenhouse gas emissions intensity of their operations from 2002 to 2006. The report indicates that the power and energy-intensive industrial sectors improved their combined emissions intensity by 9.4 percent over this four year period, and in 2006, actual greenhouse gas emissions for these sectors fell a combined 1.4 percent.

The report includes reports for each of the Climate VISION partners' activities and progress. Since the program launch in 2003, the Climate VISION partners report that they are making progress, and many are ahead of schedule. Collectively, the success reported by the individual sectors is also evident in GHG intensity data for the U.S. economy and the overall industrial and power sectors (the “Industry & Power Group”). For the Industry & Power Group, GHG intensity improved 9.4 percent from 2002 to 2006, substantially better than the 5.4 percent improvement in the Group’s baseline forecast. A substantial intensity improvement of about 2.8 percent in 2005 followed by another 5.2 percent in 2006 more than made up for weaker-than-forecasted improvements in 2003 and 2004. This performance relative to the baseline forecast is graphed below:

For More Information on Power Partners℠

ClimateVISION.gov, "Climate VISION: Electric Power Sector". http://www.climatevision.gov/sectors/electricpower/index.html

Edison Electric Institute, Power Partners℠ Annual Report, published January 2007.
Downloadable from this website at: Reports&pubs\PowerPartners(sm)-AnnualReport-Jan2007.pdf.

Edison Electric Institute, "Power Partners℠ : EEI Industry Initiatives". http://www.ji.org/climate_05.pdf

Edison Electric Institute, "Power Partners℠ : Voluntary Climate Actions to Sustain Economic Growth". http://climatevision.gov/sectors/electricpower/pdfs/power_partners.pdf.

U.S. Department of Energy, Climate VISION Progress Report 2007, published Feb. 1, 2008,
http://www.climatevision.gov/sectors/progress_report/pdfs/CV_Progress_Report_Final_Report.pdf.

U.S. Department of Energy, Press Release, "DOE Releases Climate VISION Progress Report 2007, Outlines Industry Progress in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions Intensity through Climate VISION Partnership," February 8, 2008,
http://www.climatevision.gov/sectors/progress_report/index.html


Website prepared for the Edison Electric Institute and the Electric Power Industry Climate Initiative		Prepared by Twenty-First Strategies, LLC. Copyright © 2009. All rights reserved. Last revised: Dec. 11, 2009.