How utilities are modernizing gas programs
Gas utilities are being pulled in multiple directions: shifting regulatory expectations, rising pressure to balance affordability and emissions reduction, and growing demands around system reliability. Keeping your portfolio viable, relevant, and ready for what’s next requires a strategic view and concrete pathways forward.
Join ICF, PSE&G, Elizabethtown Gas, and South Jersey Gas for an interactive, in-person workshop focused on where the gas industry is headed and what it will take for demand-side management (DSM) and energy efficiency (EE) programs to remain effective and defensible in a rapidly changing market.
Over a single day at the PSE&G headquarters alongside utility peers facing similar challenges, we’ll move beyond near-term program adjustments to work through what modernization actually takes, including redesigning portfolios, testing emerging technologies, and identifying realistic actions for the next two to three years. The focus is on implementation—not just strategy.
What you’ll gain:
- Foresight into where the gas industry is headed. Explore the key market signals shaping future DSM and EE priorities, and what they mean for your portfolio.
- Strategies for designing tenable programs under uncertainty. Work through shifting cost-effectiveness standards, regulatory expectations, and portfolio strategy to keep programs defensible as conditions shift.
- Knowledge of innovative technologies and emerging approaches. Examine solutions showing early promise, including hybrid heating strategies, advanced retrofit pathways, and scalable pilot concepts.
- Actionable next steps. Identify realistic steps your utility can take in the short- to medium-term to position programs for long-term success.
Please RSVP by September 15. There is no registration fee to attend, and meals will be provided during the event. We recommend staying at the DoubleTree by Hilton Newark Penn Station. Please contact Kelly Schneider at Kelly.Schneider@icf.com for more details.
Agenda
PSE&G Headquarters
80 Park Plaza, Newark, NJ 07102
1st floor conference room
8:30 AM | Breakfast and networking
9:00 AM | Welcome and opening remarks
Lauren Thomas (PSE&G) and Jamie Nerys (ICF)
We’ll open the workshop by defining the shared challenges facing gas demand-side management (DSM) and energy efficiency (EE) portfolios, including how to successfully balance affordability, decarbonization, and regulatory pressure.
9:15 AM | Modernizing gas DSM and EE programs
Shaylyn Dean (Spire Energy), Zach Froio (ICF), and Erica Larson (ICF)
As DSM objectives evolve beyond therm savings, utilities are rethinking portfolio design from the ground up. This session will explore how programs can remain affordable and defensible, with a discussion focused on:
- Portfolio redesign through deep efficiency, weatherization, non-pipeline alternatives, and hybrid approaches
- Cost-effectiveness challenges and shifting regulatory expectations
- Peer lessons from recent program cycles
10:30 AM | Break
10:40 AM | Emerging technologies and pilots
Nick VanDuzee (CenterPoint Minnesota), Jerry Ryan (New Jersey Natural Gas), and Nick Newport (ICF)
11:45 AM | Lunch and networking
12:30 PM | Addressing common challenges collaboratively
Jonathan Arentsen (ICF) and Raj Ghatalia (ICF)
In small breakout groups, we will pinpoint the challenges gas utilities share around program modernization, emerging technologies, and pilots, then rank which matter most. From there, we’ll brainstorm and prioritize solutions to your group’s top challenges, drawing on your peers’ real-world experience with what’s worked and what hasn’t.
1:30 PM | Federal perspectives on gas efficiency and building technologies
Wyatt Merrill (U.S. DOE)
Wyatt Merrill, Technology Manager at the DOE’s Building Technologies Office, is approaching the same challenges we’re tackling today. He will give an overview of the agency’s goals, objectives, challenges, and business plan priorities on utility program modernization. A Q&A will follow.
2:00 PM | Break
2:15 PM | Recap and next steps
Jonathan Arentsen, Raj Ghatalia, and Jamie Nerys (all ICF)
Each group will present its highest-priority challenges and top solutions to the room. Together, we’ll surface cross-utility insights on these topics and identify concrete ideas and actions you can take back to your organizations. We’ll then close with key takeaways from the day, opportunities for follow-on collaboration and pilots, and next steps after the workshop.