Energy Efficiency Advocates Call on Congress to Pass Smart Energy Act

At a hearing on July 12, a cadre of pro-energy efficiency groups urged the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Smart Energy Act. The Smart Energy Act aims to help government, businesses and consumers access energy-efficient technology, and it complements a Senate bill that would set a comprehensive, national energy efficiency strategy.

The discussion was part of a hearing hosted by two subcommittees of the House Energy and Commerce Committee: the Subcommittee on Energy and Power, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

A Plea to Get Smart on Energy

Alliance to Save Energy President Kateri Callahan, a panel witness for the hearing, attested to the common-sense benefits of energy efficiency policies within the Smart Energy Act: “We see these as the cheapest, the quickest, and the cleanest way to address the economic and security threats that attend to our current wasteful consumption of energy in this country.”

Similar energy efficiency measures that are in place today offset about 50 quads of energy annually – that’s about half the amount of energy that the whole United States uses annually, Callahan noted.

In addition to Callahan, witnesses who testified before the Committee in support of the Smart Energy Act were:

• Paul Chamberlin
  Assistant Vice President of Energy and Campus Development
  University of New Hampshire
• John Marrone
  Vice President of Energy Initiative at Saint-Gobain Corporation
  On behalf of the Industrial Energy Consumers of America
• Jeff Drees
  U.S. Country President at Schneider Electric
  On behalf of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association
• Steven Nadel
  Executive Director
  American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy

About the Smart Energy Act

The Smart Energy Act is co-sponsored by Reps. Charles Bass (R-N.H.) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah), and is known as the Bass-Matheson Bill. The act was introduced on Feb. 14, 2012, and aims to promote energy efficiency in the federal government, private companies, and manufacturers through energy usage data management, building upgrades, and research and development for efficient technologies. The bill targets several major barriers to efficiency, such as the high risk involved with privately securing energy efficiency contracts; Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) and Utility Energy Service Contracts (UESCs) are intended to eliminate that risk. 

During the question-and-answer period of the hearing, Bass asked the panel of witnesses, “What, in your opinion, is the biggest barrier to Energy Savings Performance Contracts in the federal government?” Callahan responded that “risk” is the biggest barrier, but that the Smart Energy Act takes out the risk for energy managers.

Funding Federal Programs to Save Energy

One of the provisions of the Smart Energy Act is to double production of electricity from co-generation and combined heat and power (CHP) systems, which recover potentially wasted heat and transform it into useable energy. Bass  reported that the potential savings are “gigantic.” Although the savings are proven in the off-the-shelf energy efficiency initiatives contained within the Smart Energy Act, current funding allocations for efficiency are relatively miniscule for federal programs.

Callahan emphasized the need for greater investment in energy efficiency: “There isn’t enough funding for our programs at DOE, in our opinion.” Energy efficiency returns 17 dollars for every dollar that goes into DOE programs, Callahan added.

More on the Smart Energy Act

• Section-by-section summary of the Smart Energy Act (Bass-Matheson Bill)
• Summary of the July 12 hearing from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, including witnesses' testimony
• Press release on Feb. 15 release of Bass-Matheson bill
• Alliance Policy Intern Jennifer Richmond contributed to this article.