Follow these guidelines to propose, develop, and submit a measure.

Each stage includes several steps, some of which are stage gates at which point a decision will be made whether to advance the measure to the next step or require the requesting entity to address identified issues or gaps. Entities that submit a measure should be aware that these processes may be iterative and require collaboration with one or more of the California program administrators.

MEASURE SCREENING

STEP 1: SUBMIT MEASURE Proposal FORM

The Measure Proposal Form must be completed to submit a request for a new deemed measure
or an update to an existing measure in eTRM.

Cal TF Staff will confirm receipt of your Measure Proposal Form via email and will indicate if the form is incomplete.

Your Measure Proposal Form will be reviewed by the Measure Screening Committee and will be added to the agenda for the next monthly Measure Screening Meeting. Meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of each month. Every effort will be made to add a measure to the meeting within the same month that it was submitted, but 10 business days are required to allow the Measure Screening Committee enough time to review the submitted documents. Go to the Cal TF meetings and events page to see the schedule of upcoming meetings.

After the Measure Screening Committee Meeting, Cal TF Staff will update the New Measure dashboard (linked here) to indicate if/when the measure passed the Measure Screening stage.

If your measure passes the Measure Screening stage, the measure proposal will require a Lead Program Administrator (PA). The Lead PA, in conjunction with Cal TF Staff, will work with you throughout the measure development process to enter measure information into the statewide deemed measure system of record, California’s electronic Technical Reference Manual (eTRM), and prepare the measure package for review, CPUC approval (if applicable), and publication in eTRM.

Terms and Conditions, provided in the Measure Proposal Form, must be accepted and completed during this stage of the process. By providing contact information and submitting the proposal form, the Submitter acknowledges that they have reviewed and accepted the included Terms and Conditions.

STEP 2: SUBMIT MEASURE PACKAGE PLAN (for IOUs, RENs, or CCAs only)

For measures subject to CPUC Review, a Measure Package Plan (MPP) is required for new measure package submissions
or new measure offerings added to existing measure packages.

To request early CPUC feedback, the MPP must be submitted in the eTRM in addition to your Measure Proposal Form from Step 1. You can download the MPP template from CEDARS – Guidance for Deemed Measures page and work with your assigned Lead PA to complete this plan. The plan includes a measure development schedule and identifies areas of the measure package that require CPUC input.

Measure Proposer(s) also have the option of seeking early feedback from other stakeholders via Cal TF. During the monthly Cal TF or Measure Screening Committee meeting, the Cal TF or Screening Committee members may review your MPP and Measure Proposal Form and can provide early feedback that would help you plan, streamline, and complete subsequent measure development activities.

You may be required to attend meetings to provide an overview of your proposed measure and review your plan with Cal TF and/or Screening Committee members. Go to the Cal TF meetings and events page to see the schedule of upcoming meetings.

MEASURE DEVELOPMENT

STEP 3: COMPLETE Draft MEASURE Package

After receiving feedback on your Measure Proposal (and/or Measure Package Plan) and passing the measure screening, the Measure Proposer(s) and Measure Developer(s) should expect to work with the Lead PA to prepare the Draft Measure Package in the eTRM by using available templates/tools and by following established guidelines. Cal TF Staff provide user support for eTRM users developing measures (aka “Measure Developers”) and will be available to respond to your questions. All templates, guidelines, and resources for measure development are available on the Cal TF Tools page.

The complete Draft Measure Package in the eTRM must include:
Statewide Measure Characterization
Statewide Data Specification
All reference files, including (but not limited to) calculations, source data, model input/output files, and secondary studies.

MEASURE REVIEW AND SUBMISSION

Step 4: Measure Review

Cal TF Staff will review the Draft Measure Package for accuracy, completeness, and conformance to all statewide guidelines (see Cal TF Tools page), in addition to ensuring that all Cal TF comments on the Measure Package Plan or Measure Proposal Form have been addressed.

The assigned Lead PA will review the Draft Measure Package for compliance with CPUC requirements, as set forth in the Statewide Deemed Rulebook, and with early feedback from the CPUC. The Lead PA will also be expected to review the Draft for technical accuracy. During this process, Cal TF Staff and/or the Lead PA may request additional information from the Measure Developer(s) or Measure Proposer(s) before advancing to the next stage.

Step 5: Cal TF Affirmation (for POU Ready measures only)

Cal TF Affirmation of the measure signifies that the measure has been screened by an independent body of experts and subjected to PA review. Cal TF Affirmed measures are eligible for implementation in the publicly owned utility (POU) programs (aka “POU Ready”).

You may be required to present a measure proposal at a designated Cal TF meeting at any point in the screening or measure development process, and you may need to provide additional information as requested by Cal TF members. If the Cal TF meeting is in-person, you may be requested to present the materials in person. Go to the Cal TF meetings and events page to see the schedule of upcoming meetings.

Once affirmed by the Cal TF (or passed by the Cal TF Measure Screening Committee), the measure may be published in the eTRM with “Cal TF Affirmed” status.

Step 6: Submit Measure for CPUC Approval (for IOUs, RENs, or CCAs only)

To be eligible for implementation in the energy efficiency programs administered by the investor-owned utilities (IOUs), Regional Energy Networks (RENs), or Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs), the measure must be submitted to and approved by the CPUC.

The assigned Lead PA will prepare the Final Measure Package for CPUC approval.

Only the Lead PA can submit the Final Measure Package to the CPUC for approval. The process and timeline to submit a measure to the CPUC follow an established process, as outlined in the Statewide Deemed Rulebook.

Once approved by the CPUC, the measure will be published in the eTRM with “CPUC Approved” status

This process is managed by the California Technical Forum (Cal TF) Staff and is supported by the utilities that fund the Cal TF:
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), Southern California Gas Company (SCG), Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), and
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).