NW Communications & Energy Innovation Conference

Presented by John Horvick, Vice President & Political Director

September 2015

2

Knowledge&

Awareness

PublicMood

Issues&

Values

EnergyEfficiency

Communications

3

PublicMood

Right Direction/Wrong Track

4

United States (August)

Arizona (August)

Colorado (May 2014)

California (May)

Washington (June)

Idaho (July)

Oregon (July)

Nevada (May)

Utah (January)

26%

30%

35%

40%

43%

44%

51%

53%

73%

Right Direction by State

Job performance

5

Shell Oil

Planned Parenthood

Barack Obama

NASA

John Kerry

Pope Francis

European Union

Electric Ulility Provider

2%

33%

27%

36%

19%

40%

2%

44%

14%

23%

26%

36%

28%

31%

29%

41%

Very statisfied Somewhat satisfied

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 20150%

20%

40%

60%

80%

0.0%

2.0%

4.0%

6.0%

8.0%

10.0%

12.0%

Wrong Track Unemployment Rate

Wro

ng T

rack

Ore

gon U

nem

plo

ym

ent

Rate

Oregon Wrong Track Percentages &Statewide Unemployment Rates

Concern about personal financial situation

7

March 2011 September 2011 January 2012 April 2013 September 2014 December 2014 April 2015

66%71% 71%

65%

52%62% 60%

Somewhat/v...

US median incomes since 2007 (2014 dollars)

8

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 $50,000

$51,000

$52,000

$53,000

$54,000

$55,000

$56,000

$57,000

$58,000 $57,359

$53,657

Median age by race

White

Asian

Native American

African American

Hispanic

Two or more

43

35

33

31

24

42

35

29

32

27

20

National Oregon

National median household incomes/wealth(2013 dollars)

African American

Hispanic

White

Asian

$35,000

$42,000

$60,000

$74,000

$11,000

$14,000

$134,000

$91,000

Net Wealth Income

11

Knowledge&

Awareness

12

Knowledge & Awareness

Cannot name the three branches of government

Cannot name the source of their drinking water supply

Cannot names the candidates for governor or senator

50%

50%+

60%+

Knowledge and aware of water supply

13

“I am not aware of any information about the water source. I am a super-focused, single mother and business owner. I’m doing a pretty good job just keeping on top of that.”

“It’s one of those things that I don’t think about. I mean, I go and turn the faucet on, it’s there. I go to my refrigerator, get water out of it. I never really think about it. That makes me feel good.”

How knowledgeable are you about how energy is produced, delivered and used?

14

Women Men

21%

46%

Knowledable

15

Issues&

Values

What do you most value about living in your state? (national)

Diversity of people

Cost of living

Family/friends

Lifestyle/culture

Shared values/politics

Proximity to natural features

Beauty/scenary

Friendliness/neighborliness

Climate/weather

5%

7%

9%

10%

10%

13%

15%

23%

28%

Most important issues for state leaders to address (national)

Government waste

Environment

Healthcare

Public transit

Roads/bridges

Education

Crime/public safety

Reducing taxes

Jobs/economy

3%

3%

3%

3%

9%

9%

10%

11%

15%

What’s missing?

Most important environmental issue (Pacific Northwest)

Wildlife habitat

Land development

Forest management

Recycling

Garbage/waste

Pollution

Climate change

Air quality

Water quality

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

12%

12%

18%

24%

Opinion of Climate Change

Series1

4%

78%

18%

Climate change requires us to change our way of life such as driving less or living more simply

If climate change becomes a problem we can deal with it later

Don’t know

Opinion of Climate Change

21

Estimated current power generation in Pacific Northwest and 10 year desired allocation

Other

Wave/Tidal

Biomass

Geothermal

Solar

Nuclear

Wind

Coal

Natural gas

Hydropower from dams

4%

3%

3%

3%

5%

5%

8%

10%

19%

41%

2%

5%

4%

6%

16%

6%

19%

4%

10%

30%

Desired in 10 years

Current

22

EnergyEfficiency

Importance of increasing taxes or reallocate funds to invest in energy efficiency and conservation

69%

20%

11%

1%

Important Neutral Unimportant Don't know

Support for electric utility investments

91%

74%

55%

96% 95%

37%

90%

45%

80%

Total Democrats Republicans

Investments in expanding al-ternative energy sources

Investments in improving the energy efficiency of coal fired

power plants

Investments to help homes and businesses be more

energy efficient

Save money

Reasons to invest in energy efficiency

Reasons to invest in energy efficiency

#1 Reason #2 Reason #3 Reason

$$$$ $$$$ $$$$

Save money Save money Save money

Lower bills Lower bills Lower bills

Cut costs Don’t have a second

Don’t have a third

Money Money It’s the right thing to do

Save moneyNecessityComfortEnvironment (climate, air, water)Expression of valuesReliability of existing systemConcern for future generations

Reasons to invest in energy efficiency

Upfront costsKnowledgeReturn on investmentHassle factorFamily disagreementFinancing

Barriers to making home energy efficiency investments

Series1

10%

55%

35%

Why do electric utility providers want to help their customers be more energy efficient?

Electric utilities exist to make money by selling electricity to individuals and business. They sometimes make a big show about trying to help their customers be more energy efficient, but that is just PR and marketing. What they really want is for their customers to use more electricity so they have higher profits.

The biggest long-term expense that electric utilities have is the need to build more power plants, or expand existing, ones to meet the demands of growing populations. By helping their customers be more energy efficient and use less electricity, electric utilities will spend less money building expensive power plants. And because electric utilities rates are highly regulated, these savings will be passed on to their customers.

18-29 year olds: 52%$25-50k: 47%

HS or less: 40%

31

Communications

Communications

• You are not the audience!

• You know more, you care more.• Be humble, be patient, be persistent

• Connect to values.

• Target communications to values that most resonate with each audience – location, age, race, etc.

• Make links to local conditions when possible.

• Be specific.

• Relate how individuals’ behaviors impact their community to more effectively address how individuals can make a difference in their own “backyard.”

• Use their language.

Communications

Communications

• Consider messengers and tailor to audiences.

• Role of gender, race/ethnicity, income levels, etc.

• Know the influencers: retail sales, contractors, YOU.

• Consider family dynamics and how families make joint decisions about energy efficiency investments.

• Use a positive tone and focus on outcomes.

• Keep a focus on maintaining our quality of life and quality of place.

• Communicate that there is a plan for the future. Failed policies or consequences of bad behaviors are weak reasons for behavior change.

Communications

• Suggest simple steps to behavior change.

• A large number of residents are uncertain or confused about what actions they can take. They are also unsure of where to find additional resources on alternatives. Provide simple changes and link those to outcomes. Be specific.

• Focus on key moments of opportunity.

• For energy efficiency more likely to be reactive than proactive.

Future research

• Track behavior and attitudinal changes over time – surveys

• Develop, test, and refine messages for key groups – focus groups and surveys

• Identify barriers to behavior changes – in depth interviews and focus groups

• Assess opinion leaders: interests, perceptions, values, and priorities – in depth interviews

37

Q&A