Energy groups urge Congress to advance efficiency bill

The Alliance to Save Energy and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) expressed their support recently for the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, an energy efficiency bill that was recently reintroduced by U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).

The bill would employ various tools to encourage energy efficiency, such as strengthening building codes, creating initiatives for business, directing the Department of Energy to work with the private sector on energy efficiency research, and requiring the federal government to adopt energy saving measures.

“This is exactly the kind of legislation Americans want Congress to pass – bipartisan, common-sense policy that saves taxpayers money and drives economic activity and job creation,” Alliance to Save Energy President Kateri Callahan said.

“There are nearly 2.2 million energy efficiency jobs across the country – in manufacturing, installation, construction, engineering and other sectors. We added 130,000 efficiency jobs last year alone, and the policies in this legislation will only boost those numbers moving forward,” she added.

The legislation would spur the use of energy efficiency technologies in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors of our economy, while also creating jobs.

The BCSE noted the U.S. economy is becoming more energy efficient than ever, citing the recently released 2017 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook. In addition, the energy productivity of the U.S economy increased by 10 percent since 2011.

“Energy efficiency provisions such as the ones in Portman-Shaheen will build upon these efficiency gains and will lock in greater energy and cost savings for decades to come,” BCSE President Lisa Jacobson said.

“The Council is supportive of the bill’s broad focus on energy efficiency in residential and commercial buildings, commercial supply chains, and the federal government,” she added.

Sens. Shaheen and Portman first introduced the legislation in 2011.