The essentials
- The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness (ESIC) Act (the Shaheen-Portman bill) was intended to promote energy efficiency measures and technologies in residential, commercial and industrial sectors.
- It was a bipartisan energy efficiency bill, sponsored by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat-New Hampshire) and Rob Portman (Republican-Ohio), in the 2013 session. Senators Shaheen and Portman revived the bill in 2014 and introduced a more targeted bill in 2015.
- The bill required states, Indian tribes and local governments to adopt energy efficiency codes for residential and commercial buildings. Training and assessment centers would be set up to promote R&D and application of energy efficient technologies in buildings.
- It included provisions promoting sustainable practices in industrial processes and increasing industry partnerships with National Laboratories and energy service/technology providers.
- The 2015 bill, the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015, included a provision focused on “aligning the interests of commercial building owners and their tenants to reduce energy consumption.” The EEIA became an amendment to a bill approving the Keystone XL pipeline.
- Both the original 2013-2014 Shaheen-Portman bill and the 2015 amendment failed in their respective sessions.