DSM Is Changing. Building Performance Is Why.
There is a bigger conversation happening around building performance right now, and it is not just about compliance.
Building Performance Standards (BPS) are pushing building owners to think differently about energy use. At the same time, they are pushing utilities, program administrators, and technology partners to rethink what good customer support looks like.
At Calico Energy, we have been part of that conversation from several angles throughout 2026. Our team has participated in the Northwest SEM Working Group, contributed to research presented at ACEEE Summer Study, joined industry conversations at NEEA EFX, and is preparing to continue these discussions through panels later this year.
Across all of those conversations, one idea keeps coming up: the shift is bigger than BPS alone. DSM is becoming more connected to whole-building performance, long-term customer needs, and a broader set of utility goals.
Utilities Already Have More of the Pieces Than They Think
One of the strongest takeaways from our 2026 ACEEE Summer Study paper, Compliance Catalysts: How DSM Programs Enable BPS Success, is that utilities do not need to start from scratch.
The paper identifies three ways DSM programs are already showing up in the BPS landscape.
Traditional rebates, custom incentives, and audits are helping covered buildings reduce energy use, even if those programs were not designed with compliance in mind. SEM, pay-for-performance, retro-commissioning, and monitoring-based commissioning are even closer to the mark because they already focus on ongoing or whole-building performance. And in some markets, utilities and their partners are creating programs specifically to help building owners understand requirements, benchmark performance, develop plans, and move toward compliance.
The important point is not that every utility needs a brand-new BPS program. It is that existing programs can become more useful when they are connected more intentionally to the outcomes customers are trying to achieve.
That same idea has surfaced repeatedly in the conversations we have been part of this year.
Through the Northwest SEM Working Group, we have been digging into how SEM can evolve as utility goals expand. At NEEA EFX, our panel explored how utilities can better align DSM and BPS while keeping customer experience and program value at the center. And later this year, Calico will continue moderating conversations about the changing role of DSM, SEM, demand flexibility, and building performance.
These are different forums, but the thread running through them is the same: buildings are being asked to do more, and utility programs have an opportunity to become more connected to how buildings actually operate.
Why SEM Keeps Coming Up
SEM is especially relevant because it already starts with the right mindset.
It is built around continuous improvement, operational practices, staff engagement, and sustained performance over time. Those are the same habits building owners need when they are working toward a BPS target.
The shift does not have to be dramatic. A utility can make an existing SEM program more useful for BPS by adding explicit EUI or greenhouse gas intensity goals, aligning program timing with compliance cycles, and giving participants clearer information about how their progress connects to a target.
That is a practical evolution, not a reinvention.
It also changes the kinds of questions customers may bring to utilities. Instead of only asking, “What rebate is available?” a building owner may increasingly ask, “How is my building performing? How far am I from where I need to be? What should I do next?”
That is a much broader customer conversation, and SEM is already designed to support it.
Data Is What Makes the Connection Possible
Across all of these discussions, one issue keeps surfacing: none of this works particularly well without reliable whole-building data.
Our Summer Study paper puts it plainly: “timely data access and savings attribution are essential for cost-effective DSM engagement and enrollment.”
That matters because utility systems are usually organized around meters, accounts, and customers, while building performance is organized around physical buildings and portfolios. Those layers have to be connected before a utility can confidently identify covered buildings, understand current program participation, track performance, or target the right customers with the right support.
The paper makes the point even more directly: “Utilities enabling building owner and/or operator access to accurate whole building usage data is a minimum requirement for a BPS to succeed.”
This is where the conversation becomes especially important to Calico Energy.
Our work sits at that intersection between utility data and building-level context. But the value of that work goes beyond helping a building owner submit a compliance report.
Once utility data is organized around buildings, it becomes useful for much more: program targeting, customer engagement, portfolio analysis, performance tracking, savings attribution, and coordination with jurisdictions and implementation partners.
That is why being part of the broader DSM, SEM, and BPS conversation matters to us. These industry discussions help us understand what utilities and building owners need the data to do next.
Where are the manual handoffs? Where does program staff lack visibility? Where does a building owner get stuck? What information would help a utility move from reactive support to proactive engagement?
Those are not abstract questions for Calico. They directly shape the tools and data infrastructure utilities will need as building performance becomes a bigger part of how they serve customers.
The Conversation Is Getting Bigger Than Compliance
BPS may be one of the clearest drivers of this shift, but it is not the only one.
Utilities are also thinking about affordability, reliability, electrification, demand flexibility, grid value, and better customer engagement. Buildings are becoming more active participants in the energy system, not simply places where efficiency measures happen.
That is why our upcoming industry conversations are expanding beyond BPS alone.
The same building-level insight that can help identify a customer struggling with a compliance target can also reveal opportunities for SEM, efficiency improvements, demand response, or other flexible load strategies. The same operational discipline encouraged through SEM can also prepare buildings to participate in a more dynamic grid.
The common denominator is better visibility into the building itself.
For Calico, that is the most interesting part of this moment. The industry is not simply adding another policy requirement to the DSM landscape. It is moving toward a more integrated view of buildings, programs, data, and performance.
Utilities already have many of the ingredients: trusted customer relationships, experienced program teams, strong implementer networks, and access to energy data. The opportunity now is to connect those assets in ways that help customers understand where they are, where they need to go, and what programs can help them get there.
That is the conversation Calico has been engaging in throughout 2026, and it is one we expect to keep pushing forward.
Want to Learn More?
BPS is changing what building performance means. Utility programs need to evolve with it.
Written for The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)‘s 2026 Summer Study on Buildings, our latest paper “Compliance Catalysts: How DSM Programs Enable BPS Success” explores how DSM, SEM, data access, and whole-building performance can come together to help customers meet increasingly ambitious Building Performance Standards.
The takeaway: utilities do not need to start from scratch. Existing programs can become powerful on-ramps to compliance, deeper savings, and long-term decarbonization.
Read the full paper and see what the next generation of DSM could look like!
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