NAESCO supports Open Back Better energy efficiency bill

The National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO) has supported a bill that allocates funding to states and federal agencies to improve energy performance and efficiency in buildings.

The Open Back Better Act of 2021 – introduced in Congress by Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) – would initiate at eligible facilities a range of “covered projects,” including those that advance building resiliency and public health and safety performance, as well as energy efficiency, renewable energy capacity and integration with the electric grid.

“This is a long-awaited step towards sustaining the function of our nation’s mission-critical infrastructure through this challenging period,” NAESCO Executive Director Timothy Unruh said. “Moreover, the Open Back Better Act will support the gains in public health, employment and infrastructural performance outcomes needed to achieve an enduring, equitable, and truly sustainable national economic recovery, especially as state, local and tribal government revenue continues to be so badly affected by the pandemic.”

The Federal Performance Contracting Coalition (FPCC), the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), and the Insulators Union also support the bill.

“We support this bill, specifically the additional funding directed towards the AFFECT program that will add incremental funding to Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) to achieve critical infrastructure improvements that go far beyond traditional energy and water savings alone,” FPCC officials said in a statement. “And by partnering with the private sector to achieve these vital modernization upgrades, public facility managers can expect to leverage five times the amount that would be accomplished through federal funding alone. Upgrading the thousands of federal buildings, military installations, and other mission critical facility infrastructure across the country will save billions of dollars in operational energy costs and create thousands of much-needed jobs.”

Rep. Rochester said the bill is intended to be a step to “build back a stronger, cleaner, healthier and safer economy – especially for communities of color and low-income.”

NAESCO is the leading advocacy and accreditation organization for Energy Service Companies (ESCOs). It is dedicated to modernizing America’s building infrastructure through performance contracting.