ROSSLYN, Va. — The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) announced that its member companies participated in a variety of smart grid events, beginning with House testimony. Mike Stoessl, group president of Cooper Power Systems, a NEMA member, testified before the House Science and Technology Committee. Following the testimony, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), NEMA, and the High Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition (HPBCCC) hosted a luncheon for congressional staff. NEMA is a founding member of HPBCCC.

The House hearing examined the challenges to transforming the electric delivery system, with an emphasis on NEMA’s history in developing standards for power equipment and the grid, how the association is fulfilling its congressionally-directed role to work with federal agencies and accelerate the deployment of smart grid technologies, technical challenges of integrating smart grid technologies into the current grid, and examples of successful deployment.

The HPBCCC briefing covered how buildings can connect to the smart grid, the technologies and equipment necessary for its success, and expectations of it. Representatives from GE described high performance buildings and the smart grid on behalf of the NEMA High Performance Building Council. The discussion included how smart appliances, home-scale renewable generators, and end-user storage devices will transform household energy consumption.

Presentations were also made by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Electric Power Research Institute.

NEMA said it often provides technical information for public policy discussions. Entities such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission, and Congress have asked NEMA for input on topics ranging from demand response and energy efficiency to transmission modernization.

For more information, visit www.nema.org.

Publication date: 08/10/2009