GSWC 2016 Water-Energy Grant Application
ATTACHMENT 3: Work Plan
Low-Income Residential Clothes Washer Replacement
for San gabriel valley, central basin west and bay point service areas
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
This project will remove and replace outdated, inefficient clothes washers with ENERGY STAR High-Efficiency Clothes Washers (HECWs) free of charge for Golden State Water Company (GSWC) residential customers living in disadvantaged communities (DACs) within the San Gabriel Valley, Central Basin West and Bay Point service areas. The HECWs will be purchased and installed in the customers’ homes by a qualified contractor, who will also haul away and recycle the old units.
The project’s goal is to remove 3,200 clothes washers that do not exceed the current federal standards for energy and water use, and replace them with ENERGY STAR HECWs with ratings that exceed the California Energy Commission’s standards. The end result should be a total savings of at least 83 million gallons of water and 10.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity. The project will be limited to the approximately 29,000 DAC households within the project’s boundaries. GSWC will target the nearly 10,000 households participating in GSWC’s low-income rate assistance program, called California Alternate Rates for Water (CAWR). However, depending on the participation rate among low-income customers, GSWC will most likely need to expand its outreach efforts to include non-CAWR households part way through the project.
GSWC will contract out the purchase and installation of the HECWs and the removal and recycling of the old units. The contractor will be responsible for providing GSWC with documentation for all of these activities in a manner that provides sufficient information for monitoring and reporting results to DWR. Throughout the project, GSWC will conduct on-site audits and customer surveys for 10% of the installations.
On average, HECW’s reduce water use by more than 40%, and ENERGY STAR certified clothes washers use about 25% less energy than other washers. Although investing in these appliances can yield substantial savings on water and energy bills over the life of the product, the vast majority of low-income households cannot afford to do so. That is why GSWC is proposing a direct install program for this project, which will benefit low-income DAC households while also helping the state achieve reductions in both water and energy use and ultimately GHG emissions.
PROJECT MAP:
Separately attached to this application in are the maps of GSWC’s service areas:
· San Gabriel Valley (Att3_WE16_GSWC_Work Plan_2ofTotal4).
· Central Basin West (Att3_WE16_GSWC_Work Plan_3ofTotal4).
· Bay Point (Att3_WE16_GSWC_Work Plan_4ofTotal4).
There are a total of seven maps since the San Gabriel Valley Service Area is divided into two systems (South San Gabriel and South Arcadia) and the Central Basin West Service Area is divided into four systems (Florence-Graham, Willowbrook, Bell-Bell Gardens, and Hollydale).
The project boundaries are delineated on each system map and are limited to only those areas of the system that overlay a DAC census tract as identified by CalEnviroScreen 2.0. (For maps with DAC census tracts shown, please refer to Att7_WE16_GSWC_DAC_2ofTotal2.)
WORK PLAN TASKS:
TASK 1. DIRECT PROJECT ADMINISTRATION AND REPORTING
GSWC will be responsible for overall project management, grant reporting and invoicing, and complying with all grant contract and project requirements.
Deliverables:
· Ongoing contract management.
· Quarterly progress reports and invoices.
· Project Completion Report and Grant Completion Report.
· Post-Performance reports, as required.
· Uploads to the GRanTs system.
· Communication with DWR Grant Manager.
Schedule: This task will begin upon award of the grant and be ongoing for the duration of the project.
TASK 2. PROJECT DESIGN
The design of this project will be based on similar water-energy savings programs carried out by GSWC between 2009 and 2015 in partnership with SoCal Gas and SoCal Edison. GSWC will limit eligibility to only those residential customers whose addresses fall within DAC census tracts and who have washing machines that do not exceed the current federal standards for energy and water use.
Deliverables:
· Eligibility criteria for program participation, including location of households in DAC census tracts and the specifications for washing machines to be replaced.
· Eligibility verification policy.
· Data collection and evaluation protocol.
· Draft RFP.
Schedule: This task will begin upon execution of the grant agreement with DWR and will take no more than two months.
TASK 3. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
This project will be implemented through four overlapping and complimentary subtasks.
TASK 3.A. CONTRACTING
GSWC will retain the most experienced and qualified contractor to install the ENERGY STAR HECWs in customers’ homes by utilizing a Request for Proposal (RFP) solicitation process. Selection and contract award will be based on GSWC’s standard procurement policies. Based on the proposals received and contractor interviews, GSWC will make a selection based on the firm’s qualifications, the quality of their proposed scope of work, budget, schedule, and staff assigned to the project. GSWC plans to use the same contractor project-wide and will negotiate an appropriate contract with the selected contractor.
Deliverables:
· RFP solicitation.
· Proposal review.
· Contractor interviews.
· Contractor selection and contract negotiation.
Schedule: This task will begin upon completion of the design of the project and drafting of the RFP. From the issuance of the RFP to the execution of the agreement with the selected contractor should take less than two months.
TASK 3.B. MARKETING
GSWC will market this project to DAC households, targeting low-income CAWR program participants first, through direct mailers, informational displays in strategic locations, and customer service representatives when appropriate. GSWC may also task the contractor engaged for the HECW installations with canvassing multi-family dwellings in order to increase the participation rate of low-income customers.
Deliverables:
· Marketing plan.
· Direct mailer and informational display design.
· Direct mailer and informational display production.
· Mailings and display of project information.
· Training and strategic deployment of customer service representatives.
Schedule: This task will begin upon completion of the project design in order to ensure that some residential customers have been approved for installations by the time GSWC hires the contractor, and will continue until enough customers have been approved for installations to meet the project’s goal of 3,200 installed HECWs.
TASK 3.C. ENERGY STAR HECW INSTALLATIONS
This project will install 3,200 ENERGY STAR HECWs that have a maximum volume of 4.5 cubic feet, a minimum Integrated Modified Energy Factor (IMEF) of 2.92 and a maximum Integrated Water Factor of 3.2. The old clothes washers will be removed and recycled, which has been a requirement of the California Public Utilities Commission for most of GSWC’s past water-energy savings programs. All installations will be performed by a qualified, state-licensed contractor, and will comply with the manufacturer’s recommendations and all applicable codes. Background checks will be conducted on all contractor employees, agents, and subcontractors that will be providing services on the property of GSWC’s customers.
Deliverables:
· Procurement and installation of ENERGY STAR HECWs.
· Removal and recycling of old clothes washers.
· Tracking and reporting of number of HECWs installed, addresses of DAC households served, make and model of clothes washers replaced, and types of customer service provided.
· Provision of information to customers, including product warranties, service warranty cards describing the call-back period and how to reach the contractor in case of questions, problems, or complaints about the products and installation.
· Follow-up customer service (minimum of one-year from the date of installation).
· Electronic submission of weekly progress reports to GSWC.
· Documentation, including purchase receipts and recycling receipts.
Schedule: This task will begin upon engagement of the contractor and continue throughout the project until 3,200 HECWs are installed, as long as there are eligible customers that apply.
TASK 3.D. SURVEYS/INSPECTIONS
GSWC will utilize a survey crew of two temporary employees to conduct random inspections of 10% of the HEWC installations to verify contractor compliance with the project’s specifications and requirements. While on the customers’ premises, the employees will conduct customer satisfaction surveys, answer customer questions, and note deficiencies for corrective action. The survey crew will be equipped with Microsoft Tablets, which will be pre-loaded with the inspection checklist and the customer satisfaction survey. The tablets will increase the accuracy and efficiency of their work.
Deliverables:
· Execution of inspections and surveys.
· Compilation of results.
· Corrective actions.
· Inclusion of findings in project reports.
Schedule: This task will begin within a month or two of installations and will continue for a couple of months after the last installations are completed.
TASK 4. PROPOSAL MONITORING PLAN
GSWC will develop a detailed plan for tracking and reporting the project’s status, activities, installations, costs, DAC households benefited, water-energy savings, GHG emission reduction, and other benefits by zip codes, census tracts, and legislative districts.
Deliverables:
· Proposal Monitoring Plan.
· Ongoing tracking and reporting for the project.
Schedule: This task will be ongoing through the end of the project and afterwards, to the extent required.
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