During visits with Capitol Hill staff recently, members of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) hand-delivered a request that lawmakers on the Energy Conference Committee reconcile differences between H.R. 8, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015, and S. 2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015. Electroindustry recommendations to Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Representative Fred Upton (R-MI), and Representative Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) urged lawmakers to craft a comprehensive energy bill that supports and advances energy efficiency policies, strengthens America’s grid infrastructure, and improves the regulatory process.

“Electrical manufacturers applaud our lawmakers’leadership on energy efficiency and grid modernization policies,” said NEMA President and CEO Kevin Cosgriff. “America needs an energy policy that facilitates innovation, enhances energy savings, improves the regulatory process, and expands the global competitiveness of American manufacturers through the use of smart manufacturing technologies and processes.”

NEMA’s recommendations focus on energy efficiency in buildings, with added provisions to incentivize the installation and retrofit of energy-efficient motor-drive systems and transformers. Process improvements to the energy conservation standards–setting program are also highlighted. NEMA calls out the importance of energy storage with a request that the Department of Energy (DOE) research energy storage options, address challenges identified in the 2013 DOE Strategic Plan for Grid Energy Storage, and improve the efficiency of permitting transmission lines by codifying the Interagency Rapid Response Team for Transmission.