SHAHEEN-PORTMAN ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROVISIONS APPROVED IN BOTH CHAMBERS OF CONGRESS WITH BROAD BIPARTISAN SUPPORT

(Washington, D.C.) – The Senate today passed important provisions from the bipartisan Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (S.1000) introduced by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH) to help the country save money by using less energy. The provisions, which focus on industrial and federal agency efficiency, passed as part of the American Energy Manufacturing Technical Corrections Act (H.R. 6582).

After passing with unanimous support in the Senate, the legislation will now head to the President for his signature.

“We were very pleased to see the Senate recognize the economic and environmental impacts of our bipartisan energy efficiency bill by passing these important provisions,” said Senator Shaheen. “Energy efficiency is the fastest, cheapest way to start addressing our needs. In New Hampshire, I’ve seen so many companies, like Titeflex Aerospace in Laconia or Filtrine Manufacturing in Keene, who have used this type of off-the-shelf energy efficient technology to reduce their energy costs and boost their bottom line. The Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill is an opportunity to provide the American people with exactly what they want: an effective, bipartisan approach to addressing our nation’s energy needs that also creates jobs and grows the economy.”

“We’ve put a lot of hard work into this legislation and have spent over a year trying to push it over the finish line.  More work remains, but it is great to see much of our energy efficiency legislation pass both chambers of Congress. This is a step in the right direction toward making our economy more efficient and competitive,” Portman said.  “Today’s bipartisan agreement demonstrates that there is a pathway to advancing energy efficiency, one of the quickest and most affordable ways to lower energy costs for employers, consumers, and the federal government.   By making it easier for employers to utilize energy efficient tools, they can reduce costs, enabling them to use the savings to expand their companies and hire new workers, which is of the utmost importance during this time of stubbornly high unemployment.  By reducing the energy costs of the federal government, the single largest domestic energy consumer, our bill will save taxpayer dollars and help us address our growing deficit and debt.  I look forward to working together with my Senate and House colleagues to expand on these provisions in the next Congress so that Ohio, the fourth largest manufacturing state in the country, can benefit from this pro-jobs energy legislation.”

The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act would help businesses create jobs and consumers reduce energy costs by creating a national energy efficiency strategy. According to a recent study by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, by 2020 the legislation could save consumers $4 billion per year and help businesses add 80,000 American jobs. The legislation has been endorsed by a coalition of more than 250 diverse businesses, trade associations and advocacy groups, including the Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers and the Sierra Club.

The Shaheen-Portman provisions included in the final bill are below:

• Coordination of Research and Development of Energy Efficient Technologies for Industry:  Directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to ensure that its Advanced Manufacturing Office is collaborating on research and development with other DOE offices. The Secretary is required to issue a report within two years on the steps taken by the Agency in this regard. 

• Reducing Barriers to the Deployment of Industrial Energy Efficiency: Requires the DOE to examine barriers to the deployment of energy efficient technologies in the industrial sector. The Secretary is required to issue report within two years.

• Best Practices for Advanced Metering: Requires federal agencies to create an implementation plan for achieving established metering requirements. DOE must offer a best-practices report on the issue in collaboration with the Department of Defense and the U.S. General Services Administration.

• Federal Energy Management and Data Collection Standard: Requires covered federal facilities to use a web-based tracking system to publish energy and water consumption data by individual facility in addition to meeting existing requirements for tracking compliance with energy and water audits, costs and savings of implemented measures and benchmarking.