National Standard Practice Manual for Benefit-Cost Analysis of Distributed Energy Resources
Synapse has served as the lead technical consultant and author for the National Energy Screening Project (NESP), originally led by E4TheFuture and now managed by NASEO, helping to advance best practices for evaluating the costs and benefits of energy efficiency and distributed energy resources (DERs) across the United States.
Most recently, Synapse contributed to the 2026 National Standard Practice Manual for Benefit-Cost Analysis of Distributed Energy Resources, which builds on the 2020 edition by incorporating lessons learned from state applications, advances in distributed energy technologies, and evolving regulatory needs. The updated NSPM supports regulators, utilities, consumer advocates, state energy offices, and other stakeholders in conducting transparent, rigorous, and policy-relevant benefit-cost analyses.
In 2023, Synapse collaborated with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and E4TheFuture to develop National Standard Practice Manual for Benefit-Cost Analysis of Distributed Energy Resources. This companion document explains how distributional equity analysis can complement traditional benefit-cost analysis by evaluating how costs and benefits are distributed among different customer groups, particularly priority populations. The guidance provides a practical framework and methods for incorporating equity considerations into DER decision-making.
To support implementation of the NSPM, Synapse served as lead author and editor of the Methods, Tools, and Resources Handbook for Quantifying Distributed Energy Resources Impacts for Benefit-Cost Analysis, released in 2022. This companion guide provides practical methods for quantifying DER costs and benefits, including treatment of long-run marginal impacts, reference cases, temporal and locational effects, environmental impacts, and energy equity considerations.
In 2020, Synapse led development of the National Standard Practice Manual for Benefit-Cost Analysis of Distributed Energy Resources, expanding the framework beyond energy efficiency to include demand response, distributed generation, storage, and electrification. The manual provides principles and methodologies for conducting comprehensive, policy-driven benefit-cost analyses.
In 2018, Synapse developed the original National Standard Practice Manual (NSPM) to improve the evaluation of utility customer-funded energy efficiency programs across the United States. Synapse served as lead technical consultant, drafted the manual, managed the expert Drafting Committee, and incorporated stakeholder input. The NSPM established a consistent framework for determining which efficiency investments are in the public interest.