SHAHEEN-PORTMAN ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROVISIONS PASS IN THE SENATE
(Washington, D.C.) –The Senate 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 measures were included as part of the Enabling Energy Saving Innovations Act (H.R. 4850).
“We were very pleased to see the Senate recognize the economic and environmental impacts of our bipartisan energy efficiency bill by passing these important industrial and federal agency efficiency provisions,” Shaheen said. “Energy efficiency is the fastest, cheapest way to start addressing our needs. This was a strong step towards establishing a comprehensive energy efficiency strategy for our country. We will continue to push to get the entire bill passed in the Senate so that our country can continue to save money by reducing energy usage.”
“I am happy that this bipartisan effort to make our economy more efficient and competitive has passed the Senate,” Portman said. “Our amendment, while not everything we wanted, takes some reasonable and commonsense steps to ensure the federal government is coordinating with industrial manufacturers in developing and deploying industrial efficiency technologies, and places additional energy efficiency requirements on the federal government that will ultimately save money for the U.S. taxpayer.”
The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (S. 1000) 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.
“We commend the tireless work of Senators Shaheen and Portman that culminated in the inclusion of key industrial, manufacturing, and federal agency energy efficiency provisions in the Bingaman appliance standards bill,” said Alliance to Save Energy President Kateri Callahan. “Their work has demonstrated that energy efficiency policy bridges partisan divides. We urge the House to take up the bill in the lame duck session and will work with both chambers to pass the remaining provisions of S. 1000.”
The provisions, which focus on industrial and federal agency efficiency, passed as part of the Enabling Energy Saving Innovations Act (H.R. 4850).
The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act has already been endorsed by a coalition of more than 200 businesses, trade associations, and advocacy groups. In addition, a broad coalition of supporters sent a letter to Senate leadership expressing their strong support for bringing S.1000 to the Senate floor for a vote.
The provisions that passed the Senate are:
INDUSTRIAL EFFICIENCY
- Coordination of Research and Development of Energy Efficient Technologies for Industry
- Reducing Barriers to the Deployment of Industrial Energy Efficiency
- Advanced Energy Technology Manufacturing Capabilities in the United States
- Industrial Technologies Steering Committee
FEDERAL AGENCY ENERGY EFFICIENCY
- Availability of Funds for Design Updates
- Best Practices for Advanced Metering
- Federal Energy Management and Date Collection Standard
- Study on Federal Data Center Consolidation
